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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Slideshow Save Email Print Reprints Most Popular Most Shared Putin boasts new jet fighter better than U.S. plane 17 Jun 2010 Fresh economic worries trigger rush into gold 17 Jun 2010 Miley Cyrus "no underwear" photo is fake, blogger says 15 Jun 2010 Utah firing squad executes convicted killer 2:10pm EDT German student attacks Hell's Angels with puppy 15 Jun 2010 Apology to BP's Hayward triggers uproar 17 Jun 2010 Female sex pill fails to win over U.S. panel 4:42pm EDT BP aims to raise cash as it struggles to plug well | Video 4:55pm EDT German-Spanish whispering wars hit euro zone 10:17am EDT Pain drugs abuse requires urgent action: CDC 17 Jun 2010 Putin boasts new jet fighter better than U.S. plane 17 Jun 2010 German student attacks Hell's Angels with puppy 15 Jun 2010 Facebook '09 revenue neared $800 million 8:20am EDT Pain drugs abuse requires urgent action: CDC 17 Jun 2010 Utah firing squad executes convicted killer 2:10pm EDT Walgreen and CVS settle drug plan fight 12:09pm EDT Fresh economic worries trigger rush into gold 17 Jun 2010 Oceans choking on CO2, face deadly changes: study 17 Jun 2010 Apology to BP's Hayward triggers uproar 17 Jun 2010 Harry Potter fans swarm new theme park 3:43pm EDT Nigerian village rues the day the oil men came Randy Fabi OLOIBIRI Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:15pm EDT Related News Shell Nigeria investment on hold pending reform 3:09pm EDT Nigeria's Qua oil loadings to rise, repairs continue 3:09pm EDT Nigeria cautions Exxon Mobil on offshore oil spills 3:09pm EDT 1 / 2 Edonabai Edoni, a 46-year-old Nigerian man, sits under a board which says 'Niger Delta must survive' in front of his house in Oloibiri village in the Niger Delta region June 11, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye OLOIBIRI Nigeria (Reuters) - When foreign oil explorers first arrived in his remote Nigerian village, Sunday Inengite Ikpesu welcomed them with open arms thinking they were here to expand the community's palm oil trade. World More than 50 years later, the frail 75-year-old chief of Oloibiri still regrets his naivety. "They told the elders they were looking for oil. We were excited because we thought it was palm oil," Ikpesu said sitting on his porch in his simple one-storey home close to where Shell D'Arcy, the predecessor to today's Shell Nigeria, drilled the country's first oil well in 1956. "Our happiness later turned into sorrow when we saw the oil spills." After five decades of widespread pollution, corruption and conflict, Nigeria's oil saga offers countless lessons of what not to do as a major energy producer. The OPEC member has seen over 2,400 oil spills since 2006, many of them left to fester in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Its oil-stained waterways and devastated fishing stocks offer a stark warning for the United States as it tries to clean up its worst ever oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of gallons of oil have poured in the U.S. Gulf since an April 20 offshore rig blast killed 11 workers and blew out a BP well. The spill has soiled 120 miles of U.S. coastline, imperiled multi-billion dollar fishing and tourism industries and killed birds, sea turtles and dolphins. Shell's chairman in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, told Reuters comparing the Niger Delta to the Gulf of Mexico was unfair, pointing out the majority of spills in Nigeria are caused by sabotage and oil thieves tapping into pipelines. The Anglo-Dutch firm says it is committed to cleaning up spills whatever their cause, but says armed gangs and even local communities sometimes prevent it reaching spill sites. HISTORY LESSON Studying Nigeria's oil history also provides cautionary tales for newer oil producers, like fellow West African nation Ghana, that are hoping to prevent the natural resource from becoming a curse for their own economies. Standard Bank has estimated the Nigerian government received a nominal $436 billion in direct hydrocarbon revenues and taxes between 1970 and 2007, or around $1.2 trillion in today's money. Decades of government mismanagement and corruption have lined the pockets of a small elite, while the vast majority of Nigeria's 140 million people survive on less than $2 a day. "We regret it. Now we come to understand oil is so important," Ikpesu said, his voice growing louder. "If given the power ... to bring in the companies that have sucked us dry, I wouldn't mind killing everybody like they killed our people with their pollution," he shouted. COCOYAMS, HAND FISHING Before the discovery of oil, cocoyams in Oloibiri were as big as a child's arm and villagers could catch fish with their bare hands in the local pond, according to the local priest. "If you go into the bush, our ponds are no longer holding fish. The area with palm oil is no longer yielding," said Rev. Sunny Ikobho. "This is because of this crude oil." The remote village, located within a 40-minute drive from the Bayelsa state capital of Yenagoa, shows little evidence that it was once the main center of oil production in Africa. At the side of the road to Oloibiri, a simple black stained sign says "Oloibiri Well, drilled June 1956, 12,008 feet," marking the spot where oil was first discovered in Africa's most populous country. Output from the well stopped decades ago. Most of the buildings are small one or two-storey homes with corrugated roofs, while roads are dotted with gigantic potholes. Mains electricity is unreliable and so is the water supply. "We didn't get any of the (oil) profits, we didn't get anything," Goodnews Ngieri, a 74-year-old farmer, said wearing a tattered old shirt with torn jeans. "This is why you see the place like it is." (Additional reporting by Austin Ekeinde; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Philippa Fletcher) World Add a Comment *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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