Oil was discovered in commercial quantities at Oloibiri, in present-day Bayelsa State, by Shell D'Arcy (later Shell-BP). Production began in 1958 at 5,100 barrels/day. By 1970 oil exceeded agriculture in foreign-exchange earnings; by 1980 it was over 95%.
Oil1956· 5,100 bbl/day
First commercial oil discovery at Oloibiri
Shell-BP strikes oil in Bayelsa. The fiscal architecture of the federation begins its slow inversion away from agriculture.
Sources
- · NNPC Annual Statistical Bulletin
- · Steyn, Phia. Oil Exploration in Colonial Nigeria
Methodology
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Redline
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