issue28coverWe set ourselves quite a task when we decided six months ago to theme this entire issue, our 28th, on the subject of oil. Not only was this a more exact theme than in previous issues, we also decided to take it as far as possible, focusing more than ever on the subject and doing away with anything unrelated. While the Gulf spill was our obvious but essential starting point, which has been expanded upon in the “Report” section (with photographs by Espen Rasmussen and Jiang He and Arthur J D and a look at the images from the Gulf spill by Michael Shaw), we look at the various ways in which photographers and writers have tried to get to grips with the most slippery of subjects.

One of the regions of the world where oil has had the biggest impact of course is Nigeria, especially in the oil-producing Niger Delta. We bring you a photographic essay by Christian Lutz on the wealthy lifestyle it funds (and whose photo of a New Years celebration in the Delta graces the cover), as well as the already destitute lives it pollutes, a passionate polemic by Ben Amunwa from Remember Saro-Wiwa, as well as an interview with the region’s most incisive chronicler, Ed Kashi.

Oil has long fascinated important writers, from Walter Benjamin to Ryszard Kapuscinski, and has recently become the subject for a compelling new work of fiction by Nigerian writer Helon Habila, as well as a meticulous factual investigation – that reads like a thriller – by New York Times magazine writer Peter Maass. We are delighted to bring you excerpts from these two exceptional bodies of work.

We see how the legacy of oil has further affected people and land in Polly Braden’s tar sands essay from Canada, and in Kael Alford’s highly personal ode to the Louisiana coastline. In the Khazak capital, Astana, Yann Mingard shows us how oil has shaped – and paid for – a shimmering architectural citadel, while in Baku, Rena Effendi documents how her home town changed since the explosion of oil in the 1990s.

The politics of oil is of course another tenebrous subject. In Venezuela, Chavez-fever has run its course according to many, with the nationalisation of the country’s vast oil reserves contributing to inequality and economic pressure from world super powers. Christopher Anderson’s work Capitolio captures this chaotic and uncertain atmosphere in Caracas. Meanwhile, China has shown an unprecedented interest in Angola, offering financial help to rebuild after its devastating civil war in exchange for a 30 per cent chunk of all of Angolan oil, as explored by Samuel Bollendorf.

The Middle East is an obvious player in the world politics of oil from Suez to the Persian Gulf. Bryan Denton offers us a more light-hearted take by looking at the men who race their cars through the city streets of Saudi Arabia.

From Ecuador, John Vidal reports on the potential for a new ethics of oil, as the country’s former oil minister puts forward a revolutionary idea: to be paid for NOT drilling. And Johan Bavman photographs the SOTE pipeline that has been running through the Ecuadorian rainforest since the 1970s. Jeremy Lovell takes us on a tour of the alternatives, revealing why it can sometimes seems that, to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, you might as well drill.

If you’re an avid reader of 8, you will notice with this issue our experiments with the printed page. Next year will see us not only taking our themes further but bringing them to you each time in a new, specific, and subject-led format.

Finally, we’d like to dedicate this issue to the pioneering work of Maurice Broomfield, the greatest industrial photographer of the 20th century, whose work we have been so proud to be involved with in recent years. Maurice died on October 4, 2010. His legacy, and photographs, like those from the North Sea in this issue, will endure.
The Editors

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2/27/2009 Jidda, Saudi Arabia.One of many modified sports cars sits in the mall parking lot where racers gather for a night of racing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia…Caught between east, west and boredom, Saudi Arabia’s youth today find themselves in a changing cultural landscape with very little to do. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second largest Red Sea port city, where woman are forbidden to drive by law, young men in modified sports cars, many inspired by American movie franchises like “Fast and Furious” and “Torque,” take to the streets on Thursday nights to race. ..
2/27/2009 Jidda, Saudi Arabia.Members of the Subaru Fans Club talk amongst themselves at their “secret spot” in the middle of the night, in a sparsely populated area of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia…Caught between east, west and boredom, Saudi Arabia’s youth today find themselves in a changing cultural landscape with very little to do. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second largest Red Sea port city, where woman are forbidden to drive by law, young men in modified sports cars, many inspired by American movie franchises like “Fast and Furious” and “Torque,” take to the streets on Thursday nights to race. ..
Nigeria, 08 January 2010 Gas flare, Niger Delta. Nigeria, 08 janvier 2010 Du gaz brûle sur le Delta du Niger. Christian Lutz / Agence VU / Grand Prix de la Photographie de Vevey 2010
Nigeria, Kunukunuma, 15 January 2010 Funeral ceremony in the Gbaramatu Kingdom, Niger Delta State. Nigeria, Kunukunuma, 15 janvier 2010 Cérémonie funéraire au Royaume Gbaramatu dans l’état du delta du Niger. Christian Lutz / Agence VU / Grand Prix de la Photographie de Vevey 2010
Nigeria, Abuja, 04 February 2010 NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) complex. Nigeria, Abuja, 04 février 2010 Batiment du NNPC (Entreprise Nationale du Pétrole Nigerian). Christian Lutz / Agence VU / Grand Prix de la Photographie de Vevey 2010
Nigeria, Benikrukru, 23 May 2010 Commemoration of the 2009 JTF (Joint Task Forces) attacks. Nigeria, Benikrukru, 23 mai 2010 Commémoration des attaques de la JTF (Joint Task Forces) en 2009. Christian Lutz / Agence VU / Grand Prix de la Photographie de Vevey 2010
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CARACAS, VENEZUELA. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2006: People line up to vote in the early morning hours Sunday as they wait to vote in Venezuela’s presidential elections. President Hugo Chaves and Manuel Rosales are the two candidates competing in the election. Many Venezuelans will wait in line all day to vote. Preliminary results should point towards the winner late Sunday evening.
The carcasses of freshly killed goats are roasted by the flames of burning tires at Trans Amadi.
Oil pipelines create a walkway for this young woman through the village of Okrika Town.
Deep in the Niger Delta swamps, in the Igaw village of Oporoza, armed militants with MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) make a show of arms in support of fallen comrades.
Oil floating on the sea along the coast of Langesund following an oil spill. The 167 metre long cargo ship Full City ran aground at Saastein, just south of the town of Langesund, carrying around 1,000 tons of heavy oil. More than 200 tons was spilt into the sea, polluting some of Norway’s most pristine shores, islands, beaches and bare rock-faces. Soon after the accident, the fight to remove the oil started. Volunteers worked with their hands, removing oil from stones, as larger ships worked to gather the huge oil spills floating in the sea.
A man cleans some of the worst affected areas around Langesund following an oil spill. First the workers gather the oil, then a truck sucks it up. The 167 metre long cargo ship Full City ran aground at Saastein, just south of the town of Langesund, carrying around 1,000 tons of heavy oil. More than 200 tons was spilt into the sea, polluting some of Norway’s most pristine shores, islands, beaches and bare rock-faces. Soon after the accident, the fight to remove the oil started. Volunteers worked with their hands, removing oil from stones, as larger ships worked to gather the huge oil spills floating in the sea.
Empty beach chairs rest on the sand as oil washes ashore in Orange Beach, Alabama, U.S., on Saturday, June 19, 2010. The BP Plc oil spill, which began when the leased Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, is gushing as much as 60,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico, the government said. Photographer: Kari Goodnough/Bloomberg
BLIND BAY, LA – MAY 26: Reporter Anderson Cooper is reflected in oil filled water during a tour of areas where oil has come ashore May 26, 2010 in Blind Bay, Louisiana. As BP prepares to try and stop the oil leak with a ‘top kill’ method, the Louisiana coastline is reeling from the effects of the continued gusher. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Anderson Cooper
An oil firefighter worker is rescued after been submerged underneath the thick oil slick. The worker ran into trouble as he was attempting to fix an underwater pump during oil spill cleanup operations in Dalian, China. The spill was caused by a pipeline blast at the Dalian Port, causing severe threats to coastal waters, ecosystems and marine life with significant consequences to the fishing industry, tourism and local communities.
An oil firefighter worker is rescued after been submerged underneath the thick oil slick. The worker ran into trouble as he was attempting to fix an underwater pump during oil spill cleanup operations in Dalian, China. The spill was caused by a pipeline blast at the Dalian Port, causing severe threats to coastal waters, ecosystems and marine life with significant consequences to the fishing industry, tourism and local communities.
Like a snake, Sote streaks from the rain forest in the Amazon, through the Andes to the coast of Ecuador. Sote is an oil pipeline, carrying the black gold from the jungle city of Agro Lagrio and 550 kilometer to the port town of Esmeralda, at the Pacific coast. Since 1972, when the U.S. oil company Chevron-Texaco began extracting oil in Ecuador, the people who live along the pipeline had become accustomed to its presence, for better or worse. The oil has provided jobs for local people, better infrastructure and access to internet, right in the middle of the jungle. Meanwhile, the company’s rampage has brought tremendous impact on the environment and wildlife, and people who live near the mining has had problems with their health. A lawsuit against the company started in 2003. Behind it stands the Los Afectados –the Affected Ones. which is the name of the 30 000 people living around Agro Lagrio. They require six billion U.S. dollars for the exploitation and degradation of their environment that the oil extraction has caused. The trial is still continuing today, 2010. For better or worse, the Sote pipeline has become a regular sight in people’s lives around the Agro Lagrio. This picture: Sote travels through all kinds of environments. By houses, cemeteries and over streams. Over tops of mountain peaks and down into the swamps. Sote, which is 500 km long, crosses the whole country of Ecuador.
Like a snake, Sote streaks from the rain forest in the Amazon, through the Andes to the coast of Ecuador. Sote is an oil pipeline, carrying the black gold from the jungle city of Agro Lagrio and 550 kilometer to the port town of Esmeralda, at the Pacific coast. Since 1972, when the U.S. oil company Chevron-Texaco began extracting oil in Ecuador, the people who live along the pipeline had become accustomed to its presence, for better or worse. The oil has provided jobs for local people, better infrastructure and access to internet, right in the middle of the jungle. Meanwhile, the company’s rampage has brought tremendous impact on the environment and wildlife, and people who live near the mining has had problems with their health. A lawsuit against the company started in 2003. Behind it stands the Los Afectados –the Affected Ones. which is the name of the 30 000 people living around Agro Lagrio. They require six billion U.S. dollars for the exploitation and degradation of their environment that the oil extraction has caused. The trial is still continuing today, 2010. For better or worse, the Sote pipeline has become a regular sight in people’s lives around the Agro Lagrio. This picture: Sote pipeline has become a regular sight in the daily life of Lago Agrio. In some cases, even welcoming.
Like a snake, Sote streaks from the rain forest in the Amazon, through the Andes to the coast of Ecuador. Sote is an oil pipeline, carrying the black gold from the jungle city of Agro Lagrio and 550 kilometer to the port town of Esmeralda, at the Pacific coast. Since 1972, when the U.S. oil company Chevron-Texaco began extracting oil in Ecuador, the people who live along the pipeline had become accustomed to its presence, for better or worse. The oil has provided jobs for local people, better infrastructure and access to internet, right in the middle of the jungle. Meanwhile, the company’s rampage has brought tremendous impact on the environment and wildlife, and people who live near the mining has had problems with their health. A lawsuit against the company started in 2003. Behind it stands the Los Afectados –the Affected Ones. which is the name of the 30 000 people living around Agro Lagrio. They require six billion U.S. dollars for the exploitation and degradation of their environment that the oil extraction has caused. The trial is still continuing today, 2010. For better or worse, the Sote pipeline has become a regular sight in people’s lives around the Agro Lagrio. This picture: People who have moved into the jungle, due to oil extraction, has taken over the natural hunting ground of the indigenous. Today, there are few original residents remaining. Those who have stayed have been attracted to what the new civilization has to offer.
June 2010 A statue of Christ faces the water at the private fishing marina in Pointe Aux Chene which was leased to BP as a staging ground for BP’s clean up operations after the oil spill. BP employees surrounded the statue with a temporary barrier while heavy machinery operated on the grounds. The company hired local fisherman who used their own boats to skim oil from the water and deliver and lay boom in an effort to protect shorelines. Commercial fishing remained closed for several months after the spill and oyster grounds continue to be off limits to commercial use. The markets for Gulf seafood have yet to recover. Photo: Kael Alford/Panos Pictures
June 2010 The predominately Native American community of Pointe Aux Chene, Louisiana has been retreating inland since the 1940s due to massive coastal erosion that brought salt water into areas where fresh water was once available. Signs like this mark areas that were once settled and still contain sacred burial mounds on land ridges now accessible only by boat. After the BP oil spill, local tribes were concerned that these sacred areas would be contaminated with oil, and the members of the tribe where hired by BP to lay absorbent boom to help protect Indian Land which is granted extra protections under U.S. legislation. Erosion of these areas is largely the result of damage caused during oil and gas extraction. Navigation canals created by the oil and gas industry have been accelerating the process of land erosion. Without massive coastal restoration, the region is fighting a losing battle against land loss and storm destruction in the coming decades. The BP oil spill has only compounded the damage to people who make their livelihoods on the coast. Photo: Kael Alford/Panos Pictures
March 21, 2007 A remnant of a halloween past hangs at the entrance to Isle de Jean Charles, a remote Native American community in southeast Louisiana that is being threatened by severe coastal erosion and contamination. Without massive coastal restoration, the community is fighting a losing battle against erosion, pollution, increasingly powerful hurricanes and rising sea levels. In the last century, massive land loss has left communities on the southeast coast of Louisiana, including New Orleans, increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes. Damage to coastal marshes due to oil and gas extraction is accelerating the process. The oil and gas industry has not been required to fund coastal restoration. Photo: Kael Alford/Panos Pictures
September 2008 Walton Dardar Jr. stands in front of his home in Isle Jean Charles that was lifted by the floodwaters of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and grounded on a levee a few hundred feet from it’s foundations. Walton Jr. and his elderly father were left homeless and left the community to find housing elsewhere. The house was later demolished by the parish government along with a growing number of homes that have sustained major storm damage and been abandoned on the Island. Isle Jean Charles is one of dozens along the coast threatened by massive coastal erosion. The Island is clinging to life after decades of severe erosion of coastal marshes that once provided a buffer against hurricanes and high tides. Only 70 or so residents remain, down from 300 at it’s peak. Photo:Kael Alford/Panos Pictures
Dog-roses in the oil field. Balakhani village. Baku, Azerbaijan. 2010
A couple in Kirov park, overlooking luxury construction project. Baku, Azerbaijan. 2010
Workers on a landfill. Baku, Azerbaijan. 2010
In the bay of Luanda,cargo ships wait interminally to offload their merchandise in the chaotic port surrounded by slums populated by people exiled by 27 years of civil war. After 30 years of civil war, Angola is a ruined country.Landmines litter the countryside, 47% of the population is aged 14 or under and women outnumber male survivors of the war by 10 to 1. To rebuild the country the simplicity of the loop is implacable: Beijing lends money to Angola which in turn hires chinese companies, while in passing skimming money off the top. In exchange Angola promises China 30 % of its crude oil. Since 2007, Angola has edged out Saudi Arabia as the leading provider of crude oil to China while 70 % of its population lives below the poverty line.
BP, Total, Chevron are all here. Three hours offshore of Luanda at a depth of 3000 metres and also 5000 metres underground. At current world prices Angolan crude oil has become profitable. After 30 years of civil war, Angola is a ruined country.Landmines litter the countryside, 47% of the population is aged 14 or under and women outnumber male survivors of the war by 10 to 1. To rebuild the country the simplicity of the loop is implacable: Beijing lends money to Angola which in turn hires chinese companies, while in passing skimming money off the top. In exchange Angola promises China 30 % of its crude oil. Since 2007, Angola has edged out Saudi Arabia as the leading provider of crude oil to China while 70 % of its population lives below the poverty line.