Not so persuasive or coherent but YOLO

English Oral Presentation Robert Marlin Radlow English Oral Presentation (Is this opening paragraph needed and if so is it any good at the moment?) The denial of oil or its proceeds to stakeholders will lead to conflict. Now, what do I mean by conflict you are probably asking yourselves Well, fair question. Conflict is a broad topic and can be represented in many forms, ranging from a disagreement in opinions to a nuclear holocaust When I talk about conflict in this speech I am talking about the conflicts encountered due to the denial of oil or its proceeds, as indicated in my opening contention. The conflicts I shall be focussing on in this speech are those of Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria and Shell Oil. The article which inspired this speech was written on the 7th of January 2013 and was featured in The Age if you want to take a look at the article I will provide a copy at the end of the speech , this article ascertains to the fact that Sudan and South Sudan are currently having troubles reaching a mutual agreement as to how the oil money generated in the region of Abyei and specifically Heglig should be distributed. Both parties feel entitled to the money and until a resolution is found, both parties will continue to encounter conflict. Many factors are fuelling the economic disparities between the two Sudans. There is an abiding animosity between the Southerners, who are mostly black Christians and the Northerners who are mostly Arab Muslims. However oil and the revenue generated by oil, remain at the heart of the matter. The conflict is largely caused by the disputes relating to the distribution of this oil and the economic benefit gained from its sale. When Sudan was divided in 2011, the oil fields largely wound-up (is this too colloquial?) in the territory given to South Sudan, while the only pipeline capable of transporting the Souths oil to international markets, was destined to end up under the control of the North. The North have since been demanding amazingly high transit fees that were up to 36 times the common rate per barrel of oil transported. Due to the perceived absurdity of this deal, the South finally refused to continue selling oil via the North with such high rates, this in turn led to the Northerners stealing in excess of 880 million (Is this measured in USD?) of revenue generated by the oil. This loss of much needed revenue caused the South to respond by cutting off all oil production and to launch military action against the North. These two groups have been encountering conflict for much time and the situation remains explosive. (edit this paragraph, make it shorter) When a nation is dependent on oil and the monies generated by it, they often find themselves challenged not only in terms of democratic process but also in terms of sovereignty and global reputation. Oil is seen by many as a black gold and like gold, people go crazy lusting for it, these cravings can develop into degradation and worse still corruption and disregard for the innocent. As can be exemplified in the following case study of Nigeria and Shell Oil. How can I link these two paragraphs? Shell Oil and Nigeria (does it matter whether or not I say Nigeria first or second?) became coconspirators in the late 1950s. Since then Shell Oil and the government of Nigeria have colluded to

finance their own interests and neglected those of the local citizens. Trouble began to brew in the 1990s; at around the same time that oil was beginning to account for as much as 95% of Nigerias export earnings and 80% of government revenue income. The link between Nigerias increased dependence on Shell Oil for economic prosperity and the starting of tensions between the people of Nigeria, is an apparent one. As Nigerias wealth has become more and more tied in with Shell Oil, the Nigerian government has been less and less inclined to go against its benefactors and also become exponentially more corrupt. There is no question that greed breeds corruption. And what comes next? Conflict. The conflicts faced by the citizens of Nigeria are vast and many, they include such stories as that of Ken-Saro-Wiwa, an environmentalist, cut-down in his prime for the measly transgression of standing against the tyrannical rule of Shell Oil. He however is by no means the only Nigerian to have been targeted by Shell Oil. Many other leaders of anti-shell movements have faced and continue to face persecution.