Shell TNC

• Transnational corporation


  A company that has branches and manufacturing and research and development and headquarters all over the globe
• Top 20 biggest companies in Nigeria


  • Shell Petroleum Development Company (UK and Dutch)
  • MTN Nigeria (South Africa)
  • Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (Nigeria)
  • Nestle (Switzerland)
  • Total Nigeria (France)
• Transnational corporations


  • Often have a major headquarters in the country where they start, which is often in rich nations
  • Have regional sub-offices in other countries and production areas in poorer nations to take advantage of lower labor, environmental standards, and raw material costs
  • May be present in a country to access the local market
• Oil is a massive industry in Nigeria, bringing in a lot of its GDP and wealth
• Shell Nigeria


  • Concentrates operations in the Niger Delta and offshore areas
  • Has over 6,000 km of pipelines, 87 flow stations, 8 gas plants, and over 1,000 producing wells in Nigeria
  • Employs 4,500 people directly, 95% of whom are Nigerian
  • 66% of Nigerian staff are from the Niger Delta, and another 20,000 people are employed indirectly
• Nestle


  • One of the biggest food and beverage companies in Africa, originally from Switzerland
  • Has been in Nigeria for over 57 years, employing many people
• Other transnational corporations in Nigeria

  • Dairu (South Korea, oil and gas, fertilizers, power plants)
  • GlaxoSmithKline (UK, healthcare)
  • Volkswagen (Germany, cars)
• Transnational corporations' annual sales are comparable to or greater than the yearly gross domestic product of many countries
• Shell's work in Nigeria produces more than 21% of the country's petroleum production from more than 80 fields
• Impact of transnational corporations in Nigeria

  1. New manufacturer like Shell starts refining oil

  2. Local firms provide Shell with components and products

  3. Local people earn more money from working for Shell and local firms

  4. Local businesses see increased spending

  5. Taxes to the government increase

  6. Government has more money to spend on infrastructure and attracting more manufacturing industries
• Positives of transnational corporations in Nigeria

  • Provide jobs in factories making supplies and in services where products are available for sale
  • Have charities to help with sustainability and biodiversity in local communities
  • Invest money in economic development
  • Pay taxes that can be used by governments
• Negatives of transnational corporations in Nigeria

  • Polluted the environment in the past, with oil spills
  • Accused of human rights abuses
  • Employees in low-income countries often work longer hours in poor conditions and are paid less
  • Have been accused of using child labor
  • Jobs are not secure as companies can move production elsewhere
  • Profits go straight to headquarters in higher-income countries, limiting tax paid in Nigeria
• Ken Saro-Wiwa: 'The Niger Delta contains Ogoni land, home to the community that fought back against Shell. Shell has extracted $30 billion worth of crude oil from Ogoni land since the 1950s, but the Ogoni people live without electricity or running water and have seen none of the oil profits, only the poisoning of their land and water from pipelines, oil spills, and gas fires.'
• Ken Saro-Wiwa organized the locals into the Movement for the Survival of the Ogani People and used non-violent protest methods against the power of Shell. He was arrested on a murder charge and hanged with eight other protesters in 1995.