Nigeria's First Oil Discovery: Oloibiri, Niger Delta (1956)

Commercial oil was first struck in Nigeria at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta (present-day Bayelsa State) in 1956 by Shell-BP. The Oloibiri-1 well flowed at 5,100 bpd. This launched Nigeria's petroleum industry, now the largest in Africa. The Niger Delta remains the core oil-producing region.