Page 1 of 18

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 5

May 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 55

ExxonMobil and Community Development

1Inyang Mbom-Abasi Udofia ,

2Erumere Christiana Ovie

(Ecowas Research Scholar),

Department of Geography and Planning, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria.

Department Of Geography, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Corresponding Email: mbomabasi@gmail.com,

ABSTRACT

Businesses, especially large-scale industrial

firms, have a responsibility to contribute to

community development as the host

communities are the direct bearers of the

impact of their business activities. The study

adopted the random sampling technique to

select 400 respondents from ten communities

in Ibeno LGA. A structured questionnaire was

used to collect primary data from the host

communities. Data collected were analysed

using the student t-test, Pearson Product

Moment Correlation and Nearest Neighbour

Analysis. Findings from the study revealed that

there was no significant difference between the

villages in respect to the number of

ExxonMobil development projects. The

correlation coefficient between the number of

ExxonMobil projects and distance from the

location of her operational facility was -0.741.

This indicated a negative relationship and that

the greater the distance of a community from

the oil facility, the fewer the number of

projects sited in it. Nearest neighbour

analysis yielded a value of 0.86, indicating

that the pattern of distribution of ExxonMobil

projects tends to cluster around communities

that are closer to the facility. It was therefore

recommended that ExxonMobil should extend

her community development to areas that are

outside the enclave of her operational facility,

especially the micro- credit and skill

acquisition programme, which has the

potential of reducing poverty level in the area.

Key Words: community development, corporate

social responsibility, host community, oil

multinationals, poverty.

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria is the second largest oil

producer in Africa, the eleventh largest

producer of crude oil in the world, and

currently exports about 2.7 million barrels

of high quality crude oil per day to the

international market. Nigeria had 36.2

billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of

January 2007 and an estimate of 182

trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas

reserves which makes her the seventh

largest natural gas reserves holder in the

world and the largest in Africa (Oil and

Gas Journal, 2007). The juxtaposition

between record level earnings in oil

revenue in the last few years for Nigeria

and the continued massive environmental

Page 2 of 18

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 5

May 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 56

degradation and abject poverty of

individuals and families in the oil

producing areas should be a major source

of concern to all (Akukwe, 2006).

At the core of the restiveness and

violence in the oil producing communities,

is the role of major oil producing

companies and their responsibilities to the

indigenes and community of their

operational areas. Commentators like

Frynas (2005) and Akpan (2006) continue

to argue that oil transnational corporation

efforts at community development are

abysmal. In contrast, Eweje (2000) and Ite

(2003) share an opposing view and instead

argue that oil transnational corporation is

making considerable contributions to host

community development. However, for the

indigenes and community of the oil

producing areas, the oil company is the

government they can see and experience.

The oil companies are not only the major

employers of labour but they are also the

fulcrum of community and social

activities.

Besides, from a community

perspective, oil companies are seen as

members of the host community, that

should like other members of the

community, instinctively take into

consideration community issues as priority

issues without community pressure to do

so. In contrast, the world view of oil

transnational companies is shaped by

neoliberalism and the pure market logic

driven by profitability and the assumption

that everyone would benefit from oil

exploration activities (Jenkens, 2004). Oil

multinationals, therefore, see government

as largely responsible for community

development and the redistribution of the

wealth generated from oil exploration.

This clash in worldviews and expectations

between communities and oil transnational

cooperation’s invariably foster the

violation of the psychological contract that

exists between local communities and oil

companies from the perspective of the

communities (Idemudia, 2007).

Ideally, oil companies and their

host community should enjoy harmonious

relationship. When oil is flowing and oil

companies make profits, the various levels

of government receive financial returns

from oil exploration activities and the

needs of the indigenous population are met

in a timely fashion. Sustainable

community development should be

imperative to oil companies in oil

producing areas because government at

local, state and federal levels in Nigeria’s

forty eight years political history have

never lived up to expectations regarding

funding and completion of developmental

projects at community levels.

Another reason is that the scope of

oil industry investment in oil and gas

exploration onshore and offshore in the

Niger Delta is monumental. According to

the US Energy Information Agency

(2007), Shell Petroleum’s Bonga Field

deep water field began production in 2005.

Shell Petroleum planned to invest 9 billion

dollars in the span of 2004 – 2009. Exxon

Mobil planned to invest 11 billion dollars

between 2003 and 2011 in Nigeria’s oil

industry. The point is that oil producing

companies are investing significant sums

Page 3 of 18

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 5

May 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 57

of money for their exploration activities.

The quality of life of host communities

should be an important barometer of

successful investments, especially for long

term investment. Against this background,

this study critically examines the

contribution of Exxon Mobil to specific

aspect of community development like

health, education and basic social

infrastructure and their possible effects on

poverty reduction within the host

community.

THE STUDY AREA

Akwa Ibom State is located in the

south eastern part of Nigeria, between

latitude 40 321

and 531

north and

longitudes 70 251

and 80 251

east. It is

bounded in the north by Cross river and

Abia States. It again shares boundary with

Cross River State in the east. This study

focuses on Ibeno local government area in

Akwa Ibom State. Ibeno Local

Government was created out of the defunct

Uquo – Ibeno Local Government Area on

December 4, 1996 by the Federal

government instrument. Before the

creation of Uquo-Ibeno Local Government

Area, the people of Ibeno were in Eket

Local Government Area – Ibeno Edoh,

Uquo Ibeno respectively. Ibeno is now a

distinct and separate local government area

with headquarters at Ukpenekang. It is

one of the thirty one local government

areas in Akwa Ibom State. Ibeno Local

Government Area is located at the South

end of Akwa Ibom State, occupying a vast

coastal area of over 1,200 sq. km. It

stretches from Okposo I at the eastern

flank, bordering Mbo Local Government

Area and Bakassi Pennisula to Atabrikang

village on its western flank. It is bounded

in the South by the Atlantic Ocean and

shares border with Eket, Esit Eket, Onna

and Eastern Obolo local government

areas. Ibeno occupies the largest Atlantic

coastline of more than 129 kilometer in

Akwa Ibom State.

Located in the mangrove swamp

forest of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria,

the area has rain throughout the year with

the peak between May and

September. The climatic condition in

Ibeno is favourable all year round for

fishing and farming. The environment of

Ibeno is estuarine and deltaic. The Ibeno

people are traditionally fishing people and

they are basically of the Obolo/Andoni

origin. The common dialect of Ibeno

people is Ibeno/Obolo language

prominently spoken by Ibeno and Eastern

Obolo people in Akwa Ibom State. Along

the sandy coastline, locals can be seen

carrying loads of neatly – stacked dried

fish as well as fresh fish which they trade

with Eket and the Ibibio mainland. Ibeno

is the site of what is today known as the

Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) owned and

operated by ExxonMobil. The landscape

surrounding Ibeno is dominated by oil

operations of various sorts (including

seismic work and exploration activities)

which have brought large numbers of

migrant workers, both of Nigerian origin

and expatriates, into the Ibeno land.