The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil. The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate. Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ... Map of Niger River with Niger River basin in green The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending over 2500 miles (about 4180 km). ... Palm oil from Ghana with its natural dark color visible, 2 litres Palm oil block Palm oil is a form of edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree. ... The Niger Coast Protectorate was a British protectorate in the Oil Rivers area of present-day Nigeria, originally established as the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1884, renamed on 12 May 1893, and merged with the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company on 1 January 1900 to form the colony... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Niger Coast Protectorate was a British protectorate in the Oil Rivers area of present-day Nigeria, originally established as the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1891, renamed on 12 May 1893, and merged with the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company on 1 January 1900 to form the colony...

View of the Niger Delta from space. North is on the left.

The Niger Delta, as now defined officially by the Nigerian Government, extends over about 70,000 km² and makes up 7.5% of Nigeria’s land mass. Historically and carthographically, it consists of present day Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. In the year 2000, however, Obansanjo's regime expanded it's definition to include Abia State, Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State, Edo State, Imo State and Ondo State. Some 20 million people of more than 40 ethnic groups, speaking some 250 dialects live in the Delta; the Ijaw being in the majority. Their livelihoods are primarily based on fishing and farming. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (639x639, 122 KB) Summary NASA Space Shuttle Overflight photo STS61C-42-72 Niger River Delta January 1986 This near-vertical photograph shows the fan-shaped Niger River Delta, the largest delta in Africa, which covers 14 000 square miles (36 260... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (639x639, 122 KB) Summary NASA Space Shuttle Overflight photo STS61C-42-72 Niger River Delta January 1986 This near-vertical photograph shows the fan-shaped Niger River Delta, the largest delta in Africa, which covers 14 000 square miles (36 260... Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria, on the coast and between Delta State and Rivers State. ... Delta may refer to: Look up delta in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A waterfall on the Ova da Fedoz, Switzerland A river is a large natural waterway. ... Abia State is a state in southeastern Nigeria. ... Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria. ... Cross River State is a coastal state in southeastern Nigeria, bordering Cameroon to the east. ... Edo State is an inland state in central southern Nigeria. ... Imo is in Southern Nigeria and was created on February 3, 1976. ... Ondo State, Nigeria was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. ... The Ijaw (also known by the subgroups Ijo or Izon) are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... Agriculture (encompassing farming, grazing, and the tending of orchards, vineyards and timberland) is the production of food, feed, fiber and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. ...

Coincidentally, Nigeria has become Africa's biggest producer of petroleum, including many oil wells in the Oil Rivers. Some 2 million barrels a day are extracted in the Niger Delta. Since 1975, the region has accounted for more than 75% of Nigeria's export earnings. Much of the natural gas extracted in oil wells in the Delta is immediately burned, or flared, into the air at a rate of approximately 70 million m³ per day. This is equivalent to 40% of African natural gas consumption, and forms the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet. The environmental devastation associated with the industry and the lack of distribution of oil wealth have been the source and/or key aggravating factors of numerous environmental movements and inter-ethnic conflicts in the region, including recent guerilla activity by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... An oil well is a laymans term for any perforation through the Earths surface designed to find and release both petroleum oil and gas hydrocarbons. ... For other uses, see Natural gas (disambiguation). ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a militant indigenous peoples movement dedicated to armed struggle against the exploitation and oppression of the people of Niger Delta and the degradation of their natural environment by foreign multinational corporations involved in the extraction of oil in...

Oil revenue derivation

Oil revenue allocation has been the subject of much contention well before Nigeria gained its independence. allocations have varied from as much as 50%, owing to the First Republic's high degree of regional autonomy, and as low as 10% during the military dictatorships. The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican Constitution. ...

* State allocations are based on 5 criteria: equality (equal shares per state), population, social development, land mass, and revenue generation. Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

**The derivation formula refers to the percentage of the revenue oil producing states retain from taxes on oil and other natural resources produced in the state. World Bank Report

== Recent Destabilisation == Image File history File links Example. ...

Map of Nigeria numerically showing states typically considered part of the Niger Delta region: 1. Abia, 2. Akwa Ibom, 3. Bayelsa, 4. Cross River, 5. Delta, 6. Edo, 7.Imo, 8. Ondo, 9. Rivers Click to view

ryyyyyyyyyyyyy Activities of local indigenous people against commercial oil refineries and pipelines has resulted in the destabilisation of the region. Recently hostages of western oil workers for Shell, the primary corporation in operation in the region, were taken by outraged local people. Such activities have also resulted in greater governmental concern with the area, and the mobilisation of the Nigerian army and coastguard into the region. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1869x1658, 161 KB) Summary A map of of Nigeria with the states comprising the Niger Delta highlighted and numbered. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1869x1658, 161 KB) Summary A map of of Nigeria with the states comprising the Niger Delta highlighted and numbered. ... Abia State is a state in southeastern Nigeria. ... Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria. ... Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State. ... Cross River State is a coastal state in southeastern Nigeria, bordering Cameroon to the east. ... Delta State is a state in Nigeria, named for the delta of the river Niger. ... Edo State is an inland state in central southern Nigeria. ... Imo is in Southern Nigeria and was created on February 3, 1976. ... Ondo State, Nigeria was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. ... Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. ... Royal Dutch Shell plc is a multinational oil company of British and Dutch origins. ... TESTIMONY ON THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL COSTS OF THEFT OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY AFRICAN DICTATORS US House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services May 9, 2002 By Michael Chege University of Florida, Gainesville Bad national governance--and dictatorship is the worst form of it--is now the acknowledged tap root...

In April, 2006, a bomb exploded near an oil refinery in the Niger Delta region, a warning against Chinese expansion in the region. MEND stated: “We wish to warn the Chinese government and its oil companies to steer well clear of the Niger Delta. The Chinese government by investing in stolen crude places its citizens in our line of fire.”[1]

Government and Private initiatives geared towards developing the Niger delta region has been introduced recently. Some of these include the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC http://www.nddcnet.com/ a Government Initiative. Another organisation is Development Initiative (DEVIN) http://www.devinitiatives.org/ a community development Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta. Uz and Uz Transnational http://www.uzanduz.com/ a company with strong commitment to the Niger Delta has introduced ways of developing the poor in Niger delta especially in rivers State.

It should not be confused with the Inner Niger Delta, also known as the Niger Inland Delta, in Mali. The Niger Inland Delta is a large area of lakes and swamps in Mali, around the bifurcated River Niger and its tributary, the River Bani. ...

See also

• Petroleum in Nigeria
• Niger Delta conflicts
• Nigerian Oil Crisis
• Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
• Chanomi Creek

The extraction and drilling of petroleum in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nation which is also the continents most populous. ... The Niger Delta conflicts arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Deltas minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni as well as the Ijaw in the late 1990s. ... Map of Nigeria In 2004, Nigeria was rocked by a crisis in the oil industry which, coupled with the continuing problems in Iraq and contracted petrol supplies offered by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries, has serious implications for the entire world community. ... The Niger Delta Development Commission is a federal commission established by Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000 with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger-Delta region of southern Nigeria. ... Chanomi Creek is a body of water in the Niger Delta in Delta State, Nigeria. ...

References

• American Association for the Advancement of Science, Niger Delta
• Niger-Delta Development Commission, Niger Delta: A Brief History
• Environmental Rights Action
• Climate Justice Programme and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Gas Flaring in Nigeria: A Human Rights, Environmental and Economic Monstrosity, June 2005.
• UNDP Niger Delta Human Development Report

Coordinates: 5°19′34″N 6°28′15″E / 5.32611, 6.47083 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the largest multilateral source of grant technical assistance in the world. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...