FROM SURVIVAL STRATEGY TO STRUCTURAL DEPENDENCE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ILLEGAL OIL REFINING IN BAYELSA STATE

Abstract

The study investigated how involvement in illicit crude oil refining creates new forms of economic dependency among residents of Bayelsa State, identifying mechanisms such as income dependence, informal labour networks, patron-client relationships, and a lack of alternative livelihoods that support these dependency relationships. Using a qualitative study design, information was gathered from four communities, Bassambiri/Opu Nembe, Akassa/Elepa/Abonuma, Bilabiri, and Biseni, through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). To ensure meaningful engagement with traditional practitioners, community leaders, and active refiners participating in the local refining economy, purposive and snowball selection strategies were used to choose participants for a total of 22 KIIs and four FGDs. To analyze the data for this study, the thematic method was employed. The thematic analysis of the results shows that involvement in illicit refining results in complex and long-lasting forms of economic dependency that affect households and larger community systems in addition to individual players. The study also demonstrates that kpo-fire serves as an alternative livelihood system that bridges the gaps left by unemployment, a weak governmental presence, and the decline of traditional professions like farming and fishing as a result of environmental deterioration. Many locals consequently become economically dependent on the refining networks for access to informal loans, social protection, and everyday survival. The study concludes that deeprooted socioeconomic interdependence, ingrained in regional survival tactics, in addition to criminal intent, maintains illegal refining in Bayelsa State. The report suggests, among other things, that community-level dependency structures be addressed by targeted social protection measures that lessen reliance on informal refining economies, livelihood diversification programs, environmental restoration projects, and inclusive economic governance.