Existing transhipment lanes & cuban exploration mean any inherant risk already exists as islandboy states. What you're effectively saying is that let cuban exploration continue as well as oil shipping as long as NO oil revenues benefit our own people. That is very false logic.

Of course there will be enough oil for exportation as our country would be unable to consume the amounts anticipated for its own use.

If there was no global demand for oil, there would be no oil exploration. That patently is not the case. Reliance on oil is still a major component of every developed & developing nation.

Unfortunately, immature & ill founded logic is being used to manipulate the good people of our country who may miss out on the most important opportunity that God has provided for us.
Amen for citizens who really care about our people to step up and provide truthful, accurate information to counter the false information fed to the unwary. That is true selfishness from the manipulators trying to deny us a better quality if health & life!!

Do some basic research into cost, utilisation & revenue producing translations for alternative energy sources instead of posting up abstract links. You'll then realise how impractical your 'master plan' is!

Thats an estimated $50 Billion to our country from ONLY the first prospect. There are many others which is why i state that oil revenues could have a major impact on our quality of life and position us strongly as we progress through the 21st century.

The issue about incompetence within Govt. is not a new issue or one specific to our country. The only way to address it is through the ballot box but are the opposition really any better? Thats not the point of the current debate so i wont enter into it. However, i will say that better education with foreign exchange stages at the higher levels of such education, may provide us with a higher quality of individual to help run our nation. That and getting more sophisticated structures in place to monitor accounyability of our elected leaders. More affluent nations already adopt such operational models of govt.

One thing the emotional detractors in this discussion may want to consider is that one day they or a family friend may end up in a hospital where a specific treatment is required but unavailable due to cost. This may mean the difference between life or death for them or a life of great pain as opposed to relief. Their arrogance towards the betterment of our nation may not be so easily justified then.

As islandboy pointed out in his post, inherant risks with contamination are already existent with shipping operations & foreign drilling initiatives. There is no reason whatsoever not to progress oil expliration ourselves for OUR people!

That $50billion to our country is only on the first prospect. How many cancer drugs could that buy?

Tell me something I didn't know!

If you were as 'smart as you think', you'd realise what $50 billion could mean to our country. How many hospitals or schools could be built? How many anti-cancer treatments provided? How much of the national debt addressed with no financial outlay to our people.

Perhaps you prefer being given sub standard health care & education or offering a begging bowl to the world bank. I certainly dont for my family or my people.

The valid points raised to help our nation move forward are being addressed by the same empty & emotional rhetoric previously mentioned. I see no intelligent responses but a desire by some marginal elements to lead the wider populace into economic servitude to the lending banks. We are a economically crippled nation at this moment and no amount of rhetoric can hide that fact. Thank God we may have a chance to remedy that through potential oil revenues!

The Arab regions have plenty of sun too. It doesnt stop them from exporting oil and utilizing resultant revenues to benefit the populace through better healthcare, education & infrastructure. A few generations ago many were desert peasants!

A good example of emotionally dependent but substantively devoid rhetoric by the previous contributors. Our people deserve a more informed and intelligent debate on the issue, certainly not immature outbursts.

This is especially important as those same oil revenues can directly translate into better healthcare for our sick & a much better education for our youth. They deserve it beyond the vocally manipulative elements of some of our people!

Was that meant to be an 'informed' response?

GDP per capita figures are dependent on respective populations, Nigeria's being around 169 Million!
Its about to become Africa's largest economy and it's well worth investigating the proportion of Govt. funds actually derived from oil production!

The reality is that oil production for our country (assuming oil is there) could turn us into a premier, 21st century nation instead of on the verge of bankruptcy.