Oil has few uses if it can't be refined.

Oil money has few uses unless it's spent on things that people need.

Oil business can sap the life out of the land and its people. The money needs to be reinvested in people, in farms, fishing and trade.

In developing political economies like Nigeria, communities living next to mines, oil and gas facilities want a clean, safe supply of water.

They want hospitals with medicine and doctors. They want schools with books and teachers. They want roads that lead somewhere. They want jobs.

Most of all, they want to choose the use of their land and its resources.

For people living in rich countries - who hear daily about the problems in oil-producing regions like the Niger Delta affecting world oil prices - this basic investment doesn't seem like a lot to ask.

Oil and gas from the Gulf of Guinea are of growing importance to the long-term energy security plans of countries including the USA and UK.

SDN supports communities, especially those in the global South where big businesses' impacts are greatest, to communicate and negotiate with other stakeholders whose investments and operations affect their lives, livelihoods and environment.

We support organisations and communities' efforts to:

• Work out what they need for a better life
• Communicate those needs to other people and organisations with a stake in their land and resources
• Negotiate for a better future
• Promote peace, and the cultural survival of Niger Delta peoples