Shell Service Station, Hughes Avenue, Yaba, Lagos; presently known as Alagomeji in 1955. In 1938, Shell commenced operations in Nigeria under the name “Shell D’Arcy” after receiving an exploration license. Oil exports began in 1958 when Shell Nigeria identified the Niger Delta’s first commercial oil field in Oloibiri in 1956. Like many other African nations, Nigeria’s economy was heavily dependent on agricultural exports to foreign nations prior to the discovery of oil. Many people in Nigeria believed that the developers were trying to find palm oil.