THE IMPACT OF PETROLEUM ON ECONOMY OF NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nigeria is a major of crude oil, and the importance of this commodity has been highly manifested in the nations economy. From the early 70s, the petroleum industry has become the dominant sector in the economy. Following quickly after agriculture (the dominant sector before the discovery of crude oil). It has dictated the pace of economic, political social and cultural progress in the country.   Despite the present travails of oil in the world Alli (1987) asserted that oil still holds the key to the nation’s economic future, and the prospects of any successful economic restructuring hands heavily on this all important commodity. Hence, its importance in the Nigerian economy. The world’s oil industry is described as the only international industry that concerns every country of the world. It is infact said to concern virtually the world economy; oil has successfully divided the world geographically into regions of major production and regions of high consumption.   The oil industry is also the most important in its contribution to the world’s tonnage of international trade and shipping for these and other attribution of the oil industry it was asserted, by Odell (1971), that a day sddom passed by without oil being in News. This confirms the importance of oil (which is the basis of this study) throughout the world.   It is in this respect that this study – analyses the impact of crude oil (the dominant product of the Nigerian oil sector) on the Nigerian economy with the use of econometric techniques. Econometrics – because of its richness as a measurement tool, as well as the obvious advantages it possesses over other measurement techniques. Hence, the econometric analysis of the impact of the oil sector on the Nigerian economy.