This study on oil production and the socio-economic development of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is aimed at evaluating how oil production has affected the socio-economic and political well-being of the inhabitants in the Niger Delta. It posits that the discovery and production of oil in any society is expected to spur development and positively impact the socio-economic lives of the communities. However, this study contends that the socio-economic and political well-being of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta has not been fully and positively impacted upon due to the issues of environmental degradation, poverty, unemployment, systemic corruption, poor leadership, etc, and has led to years of intractable conflict. It is the view of this study that the Niger Delta needs meaningful development commensurate to the revenue generated from the region in the over six decades of oil production. It is against this backdrop that this study evaluates how oil production has affected the socio-economic and political well-being of the Niger Delta communities in the last two decades. The study adopted descriptive research method using primary source of data collection and the structural conflict theory in its analysis. It recommends that the government should have a policy that reserves certain percent of employment opportunities in the oil sector to the people of the region so as to improve their socio-economic status. Keywords: Oil production, Socio-economic, Impacts, Conflicts, Development..