We now know that injustice occurs within the United States, but racial exploitation as a result of oil refineries also occurs often on a global scale. According to University of California Berkeley Professors Dana O’Rourke and Sarah Connelly, global oil refineries “produce huge volumes of air, water, solid, and hazardous waste, including toxic substances such as benzene, heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, acid gases, mercury, and dioxin” (O’Rourke & Connelly 603). In the case of many refineries, companies such as Exxonmobil, Conoco, and Shell contract service companies for the upkeep of their refineries which “results in more accidents and more risk to workers and surrounding communities” (605). These impacts are exacerbated in developing countries, such as at Shell’s South African Petroleum Refinery.

 

Shell’s South African Petroleum Refinery (SAPREF), is located in the port city of Durban, South Africa. According to SAPREF’s official website, “SAPREF's policy is to carry out our business in such a way that the health and safety of people, both on and off our sites, is not endangered and that the impact on the environment is minimised… we know that in some aspects, notably spills, we are falling short of those standards” (SAPREF). However, according to Dana O’Rourke, the “inventory of pollution concerns and major accidents at this one facility is staggering: underreporting of as much as 10 million pounds of sulfur dioxide per year; massive unreported oil leaks; explosions and fires releasing tons of hydrogen fluoride” (O’Rourke et al. 606). Communities living around the SAPREF refinery have experienced “ongoing acute health effects such as coughing, burning eyes, headache, dizziness, and nausea” (606). According to David Smith at The Guardian, “the cancer risk in this part of the city is so high that it has been dubbed ‘cancer valley’” (Smith). Although communities and activists have urged Shell’s pulling out of the SAPREF project, SAPREF and its sponsors refuse to refuse to acknowledge the blame. Smith states that  “‘Rather than recognising this is a problem, they’ve behaved in ways that try to undermine the report. If they accepted the findings, there could theoretically be a legal responsibility’” (qtd. by Smith).  
 

In Nigeria, as mentioned previously, minority ethnic groups face exploitation at the hands of the majority and oil companies. According to Francis Adeola, “indigenous populations, ethnoclasses, and other minorities, and their rights to land, natural resources, clean air, good health, and environmental protection, are viewed by the dominant group as expendable for the sake of national security, national unity, and economic development” (688). While there exists many oil fields in Ogoniland, including the first and largest in Nigeria, oil refineries are also located in the region. Adeola goes on to state that “Nigeria’s major fertilizer plant, two oil refineries, a large petrochemical plant, and other oil-servicing enterprises are located in Ogoni” (698). Oil companies and the Nigerian government have benefited greatly from refining activities, while the Ogoni have only suffered due to the many ecological and health implications.


It is important for oil consumers outside of Africa to become aware of how these oil companies are operating on other continents. With consumer awareness, oil refineries can be held responsible for their actions and victims will receive justice for the crimes committed upon them.