CIAO DATE: 10/2009
August 2009
United States Institute of Peace
he trade of stolen oil, or “blood oil,” in Nigeria is fueling a long-running insurgency in the resource-rich Niger Delta region that has claimed many lives. Oil “bunkering” – or theft – has fomented the armed conflict in the region, providing militant groups with funds to purchase weapons, and has increased instability in oil prices on world energy markets. Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua in July 2008 asked the Group of Eight nations for help in dealing with the problem, but no concrete action has been taken to date. A USIP special report shows how the business of blood oil poses a threat not only to the Nigerian state and the region, but to the international community as well. Based on her extensive experience in the region, author Judith Burdin Asuni documents the inner workings of the illicit business, how the troubled Niger Delta presents the right conditions for oil bunkering, and then assesses international and Nigerian attempts to tackle the problem. Asuni offers detailed recommendations to end the trade of stolen oil, finding that the high stakes and high-level involvement of people within and outside of Nigeria is beyond the capacity of the Nigerian government to address.
Resource link: Blood Oil in the Niger Delta [PDF] - 634K