- ED KASHI
BLACK GOLD
Since oil was discovered in the Niger Delta in 1956, over 400 billion dollars worth has been pumped out of these fertile grounds. The Delta, the third largest wetland in the world, has become the main source of foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria yet it remains the least developed area of the country. These images document daily life along the Niger Delta, its inhabitants and the conditions in which they live.
A Shell worker holds a machete during a cleanup operation of an oil spill in Oloibiri, while disgruntled locals watch.
The pollution and environmental degradation of the Niger Delta is striking, particularly in the towns, where the absence of sanitation is evident.
With a Shell pipeline running through its little harbour, small fishing enclaves have seen their waters polluted and fish stocks depleted.
In the village of Odiemereyi, an oil spill from an old Total pipeline dating back to 1968 spoils a swamp near lands belonging to the community.
In the village of Kalabilema, a felled mangrove forest bears the scars of a fire that killed four people in March 2004.
Three locals sit in a boat in front of a Nembe fishing village in Bayelsa state with a Shell pipeline running through its little harbor.
In the Ogoniland village of Kpean, an oil wellhead that had been leaking for weeks has turned into a raging inferno.
In the Ogoniland village of Kpean, an oil wellhead that had been leaking for weeks has turned into a raging inferno.
A gas flare blasts heat and pollution into the Niger Delta environment at the Etelebou Flow Station.
In the oil town of Afiesere, local Urohobo people bake "krokpo-garri", or tapioca in the heat of a gas flare.
In the oil town of Afiesere, local Urhobo people bake "krokpo-garri", or tapioca, in the heat of a gas flare.
The Agip Oboma flow station in Okoroma.
A disgruntled worker tries to board the oil rig "Auntie Julie the Martyr," run by the Nigerian company Conoil.
Tank drivers wait for work in the Tanker Park of PTD (Petroleum Tanker Drivers) in Warri.
An oil spill from an abandoned Shell Petroleum Development Company well in Oloibiri, Niger Delta.
Oil-soaked workers take a break from cleaning up a spill in the swamps near Oloibiri.
Workers subcontracted by Shell Petroleum Development Company clean up an oil spill from an abandoned well in Oloibiri, Niger Delta.
Aerial view of Bonny Island NLNG (Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas) terminal.
At a Total gas drilling installation in Rivers State, a Chinese contractor, ZPED, works with Nigerians and the French company to drill for gas.
At a Total gas drilling installation in Rivers State, a Chinese contractor, ZPED, works with Nigerians and the French company to drill for gas.
Workers at a gas drilling installation for Total gas company in Rivers State. The lush jungle of the Delta lies untouched in the background.
Owned by Total of France, the Amenam Kpono oil platform emerges from the Atlantic Ocean off the Niger Delta coast.
Nigerian workers on the oil-drilling platform Baltic, which is about 25 miles offshore from the Niger Delta. It is owned and operated by Total.
Nigerian and expat oil workers monitor conditions from the control center of the Amenam Kpono oil platform off the Niger Delta in the Atlantic Ocean.
Total gas workers set up a gas drilling installation in Rivers State.
Employees work together to set up an oil drilling well for Total gas.
A view of the Total gas-drilling site in Rivers State. A Chinese contractor, ZPED, works with Nigerians and the French company to drill for gas.
Total gas employees work on site at an oil drilling installation in Rivers State.
Felix Ozogbuda, 37, is a Niger Delta man who is a "roustabout" worker, which means he does all kinds of work on the rig.
An overhead view of a Total gas drilling installation site in Rivers State. Employees prepare the drilling pipes.
On board the FSO Unity (Floating Storage and Offloading) vessel, owned by Total of France.
Aerial view of Total's Amenam Kpono oil platform, which produces 125,000 barrels of oil a day.
