Petrochemicals and Economic Development: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

The theory holds that crude oil was formed as a result of the bacterial decomposition, under pressure of animal and plant remains once living in the sea, which use buried in certain porous strata of the earth’s crust. Both natural gas and crude oil accumulate in porous formations capped by dome-shaped impervious lampas of rock. The presence of oil in rock formations under conditions of temperature, pressure, and atmospheric composition explains why petroleum can be found in the desert. Petroleum is a dark viscous liquid which consists of a highly complex mixture, and its main constituents being hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbon is a compound containing hydrogen and carbon only as its name implies. Parallel to the stimulation of other industries the widespread application of petrochemicals effectively creates a lot of jobs in some specific industries. The sectors benefiting most for the indirect generation of employment are agriculture, textile, plastics, construction, automobile, health and consumer goods industries. The international labour organization (ILO) draws the conclusion that the development of petrochemicals leads to a general growth of all the sectors of the economy. Therefore, for Nigeria to achieve the vision 2020:20 it is a must to develop and enhance the petrochemical processing plants and explore more petroleum products especially in the off shore to supplement the existing ones.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n5p47