I saw an advertisement in the Economist for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or NNPC. After reading about the recent pipeline blast in Nigeria and the dominance of a small few over Nigeria's large petroleum industry, I anticipated that this ad would also pertain to petroleum. I was somewhat surprised that the ad actually pertained to biofuels. According to the ad, Nigeria plans to launch a biofuel industry and Nigeria "aims at leveraging the vast agricultural potential of the country to create wealth, employment and sustainable development." Per the plan, Nigeria plans to make ethanol and biodiesel from sugarcane. The ad seeks firms to partner with the NNPC.

The prospect of a biodiesel industry in Nigeria sounds promising, but after reading the article on the pipeline blast yesterday, I question how this new industry will create wealth and who it will create wealth for. Will it create wealth for the masses, something that the petroleum industry is not doing in Nigeria? Or will it simply add wealth to the already wealthy few in Nigeria while the poor will be left with little? Will this industry permit poor farmers to be more successful by encouraging farming in less prosperous regions or will it squeeze out small farms in favor of larger farms or plantations owned by those more wealthy? Only time will tell how the biofuel industry will do in Nigeria. If it does nothing else, let's hope that it causes the thieves of the gasoline from pipelines to find something else to do, such that another tragedy like the recent explosion can be averted.