Business Economy of Bayelsa State

Business Economy of Bayelsa State
The major occupations in the State are fishing, farming, palm oil milling, lumbering, palm wine tapping, local gin making, trading, carving and weaving.

Bayelsa State is a major oil and gas producing area and it contributes over 30% of Nigeria's oil production. Bayelsa State is home to Oloibiri in Ogbia Local Government Area, where oil was first struck in Nigeria in commercial quantities in 1956. Gas production activities are currently being intensified in the State as feedstock to the LNG Gas Supply Plants in Bonny which is located in Oluasiri local government area of the state. Also the gas feed will feed into the proposed national associated gas gathering networks that will feed other LNG plants, power plants and end users in the manufacturing sector. The major oil exploration and production companies operating in the State are Shell, Agip and ChevronTexaco.

The Kolo Creek Gas Turbine Project owned by the Bayelsa State Government supplies electricity to Yenagoa, the State Capital, and surrounding towns and villages. Bayelsa State is, presently, the only State in Nigeria that provides electricity for itself without any supply from the National Electricity Grid.

Bayelsa State has large reserves of clay, sand and gravel.