Maritime aspects of illegal oil-bunkering in the Niger Delta

Abstract

Oil bunkering holds a positive meaning in a general sense, but in the rich oil fields of the Niger Delta in West Africa the term more often than not implies a criminal practice embedded in political, social and economic controversies. As a practice to gain financially, to adjust what is perceived to be governmental discrimination and to finance a range of opposition and criminal activities in the delta region, illegal oil bunkering grew to proportions that elicited a coercive government response in order to protect a vital national asset of the Nigerian state. A practice involving the Nigerian state, regional communities in the Niger River delta, and multinational oil companies, illegal oil bunkering holds local, regional and international repercussions. Due to the almost seamless transition between the vast delta and the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, illegal bunkering complicates the deteriorating offshore situation in the Gulf of Guinea and collectively they elicit security responses from the Nigerian government. Threatening the vital Nigerian oil industry, military deployments, new acquisitions of maritime vessels and even cooperation between state agencies and private security companies comprise the Nigerian reaction to counter the practice and impact of illegal oil bunkering.