Publication Type: Oral Presentation
Abstract: Oil palm (Elaeis guineesis) is widely cultivated and tapped in Nigeria by about 65% of Nigerian farmers as palm oil is an important staple in the homes. A lot of effluents are generated all over the country at various processing points. Experiments were conducted at the two main producing locations of Ekpoma and Calabar both in rainforest ecological zones of Nigeria. The experiments had four treatments with three replications and arranged in completely randomized design (CRD). The treatments were applied at 0ml-To, 40ml-T1, 80ml-T2 and 120ml-T3 concentrations in the pots of 2kg soil. Then 3 seeds of cowpea (dual purpose variety) were planted in each pot. The germination test indicated the seed in the control plot sprouted better than those for the POME treated pots. Soil analysis was carried out before and after POME application and planting of cowpea. Results showed that effluent supplies nutrients to the soil, improves infiltration rate and aggregate stability. The effluent retards growth of cowpea at the early stage, enhances nodulation when applied in a controlled manner and inhibits nodulation when applied in large quantity. POME can be used as organic fertilizer material to improve degraded, sandy, and low organic matter soils.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: When half the employees of striking Venezuelan national oil company, PDVSA, were fired in 2002, President Chavez was then able to freely access its resources to support the Bolivarian program. But, PDVSA was in dire straights, lacking most of its technic

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper examines the effect of oil abundance on political violence. First, we revisit one of the main empirical findings of the civil conflict literature that oil abundance causes civil war. Using a unique panel dataset describing worldwide oil discoveries and extractions, we show that simply controlling for country fixed effects removes the statistical association between oil reserves and civil war in a sample of more than 120 countries over the period 1930-2003. Other political violence measures, such as coup attempts and irregular leader transitions, are not affected by oil reserves either. Rather, we find that oil-rich nondemocratic countries have a larger defense burden. To further address the problems of endogeneity and measurement error, we exploit randomness in the success or failure of oil explorations. Using unexpected oil discoveries as an instrument for actual oil discoveries, once again we find that oil discoveries do not increase the likelihood of violent challenges to the state in the whole sample of country-years in which at least one exploratory well is drilled. However, in the subsample of African countries, there is some evidence that oil discoveries cause civil conflict. We suggest a possible explanation for this pattern based on the idea that except for countries with weak central governments and rough terrain, which favor insurgency, oil-rich nondemocratic regimes effectively expend resources to deter potential challengers.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Oil has been central a central role in the twentieth century, not only in the economic development of the industrial wealthier countries but also in the world powers accumulation process of force. Among those we have the USA and USSR, as the two largest producers and consumers of energy, especially oil, during the twentieth century. After 1970s, when the US’s oil production entered in depletion and there were the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979-1980, this vital natural resource to the contemporary economy back again to do understanding of been a strategic good.



The USA and its allies in search for Energy Security had taken a major effort to reduce its dependence on OPEC's production. The diversification of its imports in the 1980-1990’s occurred with an increasing production in American strategic partners, especially in Europe (North Sea) and North Americas (Alaska, Canada and Mexico). The reduction of oil reserves and production in North Sea, Alaska and Mexico is finishing the period which these producing areas could stabilize the world oil market and stress the need for new production areas.



Over the past twenty years, the adjacent regions of the South Atlantic (South America and Africa) were highlighted by the large volume of new discoveries, raising strategic global interest. Currently, South America and Africa, together, account for about 18% of global oil reserves. Recent discoveries of mega-oilfields in Brazil’s offshore pre-salt area expand the outlook for new discoveries.



However, the enlargement of those reserves occurs in a context of increasing disputes for energy resources in the world, permeating the diplomacy to war. In a global level, these disputes involve the major global powers, generally huge energy importers. In the regional level, these conflicts involve oil-exporting states, which, in some cases, have large reserves and generally face several threats from civil war, attempts to coup d'etat, until the case of foreign invasion. Despite being a remote possibility, it is a threatening scenario the view that South America and the coast of South Atlantic could become an area of international disputes between major powers for the control of energy resources.



The implications of these disputes are central to a pacific country like Brazil located in the center of the South Atlantic, the main vertebrates of South American integration and with important ties with the African continent.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Peak Oil is a term used by geologists to describe the maximum annual output within an area. An increasing number of researchers expect a peak of global oil production within this decade. This paper explains the significance of this event (as opposed to th