Violence And Poverty Plagues Oil Rich The Niger Delta

PORT HARCOURT, NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA - OCTOBER 11: Moujahid Dokubo-Asari, who leads the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, talks on his cell phone in a hotel October 11, 2004 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Asari who briefly rose to prominence when he threatened to shut down oil production in large areas demanding a better distribution of Nigeria's oil wealth. Despite producing 2.26 million barrels of oil a day, 60 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line. A member of OPEC, Nigeria is the world's seventh largest crude oil exporter, and the fifth largest supplier to the U.S. The Niger Delta, where the bulk of Nigeria's oil comes from, is plagued by violence between rival warlords, ethnic groups, and the government frequently leading to the kidnapping of oil workers and interfering with oil production. Royal Dutch/Shell leads Exxon Mobil, Chevron Texaco, Total Fin Elf and Agip in production through a series of joint ventures with the government. (Photo by Jacob Silberberg/Getty Images)