Oil in Nigeria: Conflict and Litigation Between Oil Companies and Village Communities

This well-researched book on the oil industry in Nigeria deals with the major consequences of foreign oil operations in village communities. The study gives a comprehensive overview of the environmental and social impact of oil operations, which have so far been little understood. In addition, a wide range of background data is presented on oil companies and their conflicts with village communities and government policy in Nigeria. Statistical tables, allow the book to be used as a reference for scholars and non-scholars alike.

Frynas describes the interaction between oil companies and village communities, and discusses the economic, social and legal problems that may be encountered in this context. He derives important conclusions regarding the involvement of multinational companies in developing countries. Drawing on a large number of court cases, he uses a new approach to illustrate the social and environmental impact of multinational companies. Using exemplary cases from Nigerian courts on topics such as oil spills and compensation payments for land acquisition, Oil in Nigeria demonstrates how legal materials can be used to understand conflicts between multinational companies and indigenous people. The court cases deal with large multinational companies such as Shell, in addition to smaller oil company subcontractors such as Seismograph Services. It provides a wealth of information on issues such as land conflicts, loss of property and life, as well as oil company compensation efforts. This information is supplemented by recent political inside material related to Shell's Nigerian operations.