The Power of Oil

Gregor Attanasi, Diana Janina

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The Power of Oil

Gregor Attanasi, Diana Janina

Abstract

Oil is the bedrock of global economy, fueling and directing human life at an inconceivable scale.This paper explores to what extent the environmental degradation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta isrevelatory of oil’s agency in crafting economic and socio-political spaces antithetical to Earth’snatural space. It is hypothesized that the conflict in the Niger Delta is not local or regional, butglobal - between an anthropocentric worldview (oil fueled life) and an ecocentric worldview (nonoilfueled life). Based on the scholarship focusing on the political economy of petroleum, the limitsof the “resource curse” and related approaches will be outlined, with a view to integrate theenvironmental dimension and conceptualizations of “space” from the discipline of urban studies,combined with the historical trajectory of oil, Nigeria’s legal framework and Niger Delta voices.The power of oil and its ability to hide in everyday objects is thought to have fueled human’s falsebelief to be able to control nature. The resulting damage is borderless, suggesting a radical shift inthe focus of the resource scholarship, to consider and prioritize the Earth at an ontological level.A divestment from petroleum is recommended, as well as the establishment of regulatory agencies.