Informal trade of hydrocarbons in Benin ; Commerce informel des hydrocarbures au Bénin

Abstract

First of all on a small scale, then further along, on a much larger scale, the kpayo trade which means smuggling of gas and other oil products from Nigeria to Bénin, depend on almost 100 000 persons living on this sale activity. This trade might be quite different if gas transported by means of ships on the sea, by the river, or by scooters or trucks on the road. This kind of informal trade gives way to different kinds of odd jobs we mention in the PHD: bringing the jerrycans to the beach, reshaping scooters and trucks in a garage. Most of all this illicit activity needs some kind of a kinship network and political pull among the police and customs officers of the Republic. Empirical research has been done in different fields such as a gas station, a seaside village, a market on the country border, a landing stage, a warehouse, it led to the comprehension of the way smugglers are supplied. I was thus able to understand the process by which gas was transported from Nigeria to the Republic of Bénin, and see all the byways the smugglers are used to take, and the risks taken all along the journey. I examined the interaction process between the racketeers and the police when they passed a checkpoint; see how the markets were busy, and last managed to see how the the different roles of subjects interact. The racketeers networks analysis, life stories, different action strategies, the way they accumulate and the study of informal economy related to law contribute in this PhD to an essay in economic- anthropology with geographic standpoints, and a sociological analysis of precarious lives and Big Shots. ; D'abord sur une échelle réduite puis sur une large échelle la contrebande du kpayo, essence et produits pétroliers occupent aujourd'hui un nombre de plus en plus grand de vendeurs, on estime que 100 000 personnes sont impliquées dans ce trafic du Nigeria au Bénin. Il revêt plusieurs aspects selon qu'il emprunte la route maritime, le fleuve ou la route. Ce transport génère un grand nombre de petits métiers que nous ...