Effect of Oil Production on Socio-Economic Development in Niger Delta, Nigeria

The study examined the effect of Oil Production on Socio-Economic Development in Niger Delta, Nigeria. The adopted Oil Spillage and Gas Flaring as the independent variables while environmental degradation and social conflicts serve as dependent variables. The study adopts a survey research design where secondary data were fully in used. The data was obtained from World Bank Reports, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environmental Protection, Amnesty International, Nigerian National Petroleum. Corporation, Niger Delta Development Commission, Department of Petroleum Resources Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics-Nigeria. The research also adopted comparative study method, descriptive and conceptual approach to analyze all the information generated from the various sources of data. The result revealed that oil spills usually have direct contact with the land, waterbodies and some also evaporate into the atmosphere. While gas flares also affect every part of the ecosystem from the ozone layers to the microorganisms in the soil. We conclude that Oil Production on has significant negative effect on Socio-Economic Development in Niger Delta, Nigeria. we recommended that Oil companies should adopt modernized technologies to enhance fewer contacts of pollutants into the environment