The city grew in economic importance in the 1970s as a service center for the local oil industry. The Samotlar oil basin, an important source of oil, is located in the region, and oil and natural gas pipelines cross the city. Additional industry in the city includes timber, construction materials, and food. Transportation to the city is limited, although there is a railroad station. There is a regional history museum in Nizhnevartovsk.
During the time of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Soviet central planners concentrated resources in several cities, including Nizhnevartovsk and Surgut, to promote the growth of the Siberian oil industry. The labor intensive nature of oil production during the Soviet period spurred dramatic population growth in the city.
By 1979 the city had grown to more than three times the size Soviet planners had expected, causing serious housing and infrastructure shortages.
Then the population of the city was declining, most likely due to economic difficulties in the oil industry.
