The framing of the informal oil economy in Nigeria: toward epistemic justice of the illegal artisanal oil refineries in the Niger Delta

The Nigerian oil sector is profoundly challenged by inefficiency and intractable problems, including mismanagement and poor oil governance, which create gaps in the country’s oil industry. This resulted in systemic exclusion, marginalisation, and poverty in the country’s Niger-delta region. A social reality that influenced the development of localised knowledge of artisanal oil refineries in the region’s riverine communities. Previous research paid little attention to the epistemic justice of the oil economy in Nigeria. This study bridged gaps in research by exploring the epistemic discrimination of localised knowledge, which sustains the informal oil business in the Niger-delta. It also investigates how the country’s oil government framed the activity of illegal artisanal refiners to establish a narrative that criminalises the riverine community’s attempt to explore its bequeathed resources. Adopting an exploratory design and a qualitative research method, forty-two participants were purposefully sampled through in-depth and key informant interviews in the riverine communities of Warri Southwest and Nembe Local Government Areas of Delta and Bayelsa States, Nigeria. Data were thematically analysed to form themes and patterns. The study found that, despite the state’s aggressive approaches and the oil government’s criminalisation of localised knowledge, the illegal artisanal refineries of the informal oil industry provide the refined product needs of the Delta region, sustain enterprises, and employ young people in riverine communities. The study contributes to knowledge on the importance of inclusive and equitable acceptance of the roles of artisanal illegal refineries. The oil government must regulate them as a win-win approach to Nigeria’s oil crisis.