According to a 1996 report by the World Council of Churches , in the early 1960s, oil accounted for less than 10 percent of Nigeria's economic base. A man from the Niger Delta occupies an oil rig in protest. Nigeria's largest trading partner is the United States, which imports 35 percent of all of Nigeria's exports. The Niger Delta region is rich with oil and many transnational oil companies, like Shell Petroleum Development Company or ExxonMobil , have long established operations there, including, more recently, offshore oil rigs. The oil industry is highly controversial in Nigeria, reaching into every aspect of Nigerian life, especially into the lives of ethnic minorities, like Ogonis or Ijaws, that live in the Niger Delta.
Many companies have dangerous operations close to farmland and homes.
An open gas flare. Many oil companies have been under attack by youth groups and other organizations that have vandalized property, kidnapped oil workers, and actively campaigned for widespread reforms in community development.