Environmental policies and strategies in nigeria oil and. Nigeria is an oil rich country, one of the largest exporters of oil in the world. Crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantities in nigeria in 1956, while actual production started in 1958. Shell oil spills that havent been cleaned up for over eight years have contributed to astonishingly high levels of pollution in a nigerian community, according to a consultant who helped. Nigeria is the largest oil producer in africa and the eleventh largest producer of crude oil in the world. Laws of the federation of nigeria arrangement of sections 1. Inadequate monitoring and enforcement in the nigerian oil industry.
One of the key objectives of corporate social responsibility csr is to forge a restiveness and militancy in the niger delta region of nigeria it is not clear that the csr activities of multinational corporations mncs in the region have yielded the. A man jumps across water dirtied by oil pollution in ogoniland, nigeria. Shell acquitted of nigeria pollution charges environment. Environmental rights action, friends of the earth nigeria.
Virtually all aspects of oil and gas exploration and exploitation have deleterious effects on the ecosystem and local biodiversity. In february 2005, nigeria announced the award of five oil blocks in the joint development zone jdz, shared by nigeria and neighboring sao tome and principe stp. Environmental pollution and sustainable development in nigeria. The reason for this is that the oil and gas industry in nigeria accounts for about 90%. Oil pollution occurs when crude oil and its refined products are spilled into the environment by the activities of man. Oil exploitation and conflict in the nigerdelta region of. Implications for the sustainability of the mangrove ecosystem. The discovery was made by shellbp, at the time the sole concessionaire. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the. Nigeria is now the largest oil producer in africa and the sixth largest in the world. Pdf health risks associated with oil pollution in the niger. Inadequate monitoring and enforcement in the nigerian oil. Health risks associated with oil pollution in the niger delta.
Liability for oil pollution under the common law 2. Amnesty international, court documents expose shells false claims on nigeria oil spills. Its economy depends heavily on the resource oil accounts for 9095 percent of nigerias exports and nearly 80 percent of its revenue. Oil and gas journal 2005 estimates nigeria s proven oil reserved at 35.
Oil exploration and exploitation is very lucrative, and a major revenue earner in nigeria. Petroleum, pollution and poverty in the niger delta. The human health implications of crude oil spills in the. Oil from the niger delta region accounts for more than 90% of nigeria s exports and about 80% of the governments revenue, from as far back as december 1981. Nigerian government has failed to monitor the extent of the oil spills and. Oil exploitation, the environment and crimes against nature. Pdf the coastal area of the niger delta is the home to oil explorations and exploitations in nigeria. Environmental impacts of oil exploration and exploitation. Environmental policies and strategies in nigeria oil and gas. Environment, policies, strategies, nigeria, oil and gas industry 1. Shell sent an email to major media outlets stating, 85% of pollution was due to sabotage. Nigeria launches cleanup in devastated oil spill region.
Italian oil giant eni, which owns the nigerian agip oil company is a smaller player in the niger delta than shell and has received less attention. Nov 11, 20 hundreds of oil spills reported in nigeria every year are ruining the environment and putting human lives at risk. Laws of the federation of nigeria petroleum act 1990. An overview of the growth and development of the oil and petrochemical industry in nigeria is presented.
Royal dutch shell in the niger delta business and human rights. Prospecting and extraction of petroleum occur in over 50% of the niger delta region, resulting in a cornucopia of access roads, pipelines, wells, gas flaring, dredged spoils and flow stations that are often located near homes, schools, farms, and within communities. The report, while acknowledging improvements to shells jiv process since 2011, identified serious flaws that. The legislative framework regulating the nigerian oil industry, including the constitution of nigeria 1999, land. Oil exploration licences, oil prospecting licences and oil mining leases 3. The niger delta region and oil exploration the niger delta extends over about 70,000 km 2 27,000 sq mi and makes up 7. Offences in connection with the distribution of petroleum products 6. Public health implications of oil pollution in koluama.
Nigerians file oil lawsuit against shell in the netherlands, 5 nov 2008. Shell oil spills led to astonishingly high pollution in nigeria. Shell oil spills led to astonishingly high pollution in. Abstract water pollution from crude oil spills in the mangrove ecosystem was investigated.
Phd dissertation sustainable environmental management. The pollution has led to environmental degradation, which has adversely affected the lives of the inhabitants and ruined the local economy of the region. Public regulation of the oil and gas industry in nigeria. The niger delta region of nigeria has been inundated with oil pollution since the beginning of oil exploitation in the 1960s. The vast majority of nigerias oil fields are located in the. But these regulations are not enforced, and can therefore be freely flouted by companies like shell. Nigerian oil pollution claims against shell cannot be heard. This paper examines the environmental impact of oil spillage and degradation in the niger delta region of nigeria. And the niger delta is the seat bench of oil and gas production in nigeria. Oil communities have been at the receiving end of this environmental problem. Jun 15, 2010 the oil industry is accused of a sharp double standard in its operations of taking advantage of nigeria s lack of environment law and weak regulation, while observing higher standards of safety. The niger delta region is the oil producing area of nigeria, which consists of highly diverse ecosystems that are supportive of numerous. The environment provides man with the and food for his survival on earth, many activities of man have changed the natural constituents of the environment which portend danger to man and his environment pollution is the introduction of any substance at the rate faster.
For the ogoni and the people of nigeria, oil and oil companies have brought poverty, environmental devastation and widespread, severe human rights abuses. Natural resource valuation and damage assessment in nigeria. Health risks associated with oil pollution in the niger delta, nigeria article pdf available in international journal of environmental research and public health 3. An overview of pollution in nigeria and the impact of. Nov 09, 2015 oil pollution in the niger delta region of nigeria. Legal and sustainable development impacts of major oil spills. Pdf petroleum industry and its pollution potential in nigeria. Since crude oil was first discovered in nigeria in 1958, oil exploration has continued in the nigerdelta.
Health risks associated with oil pollution in the niger. Understanding the armed groups of the niger delta final. On top of the 349 spills in 2014, eni reported more than 500 oil spills in 20. Pdf oil spill problems and management in the niger delta. Nigerias national oil spill detection and response.
There are many documented cases of oil spillage in the niger delta region, southern. Hence, the need to appraise the current levels of pollution, and environmental protection legislations in nigeria with a view to enacting a new legislation. Environment, pollution, sabotage, hydrocarbon, acid rain, ijaw community introduction niger delta region is rated as the most oil impacted environment and polluted area in the world most especially by environmental experts from the uk, the usa and nigeria. A new report from amnesty international says spills in the niger delta are the. The niger delta region of nigeria has been inundated with oil pollution. Environmental impacts of oil exploration and exploitation in the niger delta of nigeria.
It found the contamination to be widespread and severe, and stated that people in the niger delta have been exposed to it for. History of the nigerian petroleum industry oil was discovered in nigeria in 1956 at oloibiri in the niger delta after half a century of exploration. When the land is polluted by oil in this way, it makes growing crops very difficult. Environmental risk assessment of petroleum industry in nigeria. Environmental pollution militancy development oil exploration production. The majority of nigerias oil production takes place in the niger delta. The region has huge oil and gas reserves, and ranks the sixth worlds largest exporter of crude oil omofonmwaandodia, 2009. The report reveals the human and environmental effects of decades of oil spills in the area. The second part of the article will focus on the public regulation of the oil and gas industry in nigeria. Shell lawsuit re oil pollution in nigeria business.
International journal of environment and pollution research vol. But the number of oil spills from its operations requires urgent action by both the nigerian and italian governments. Exploration, exploitation, coastal region, nigerdelta, and environmental pollution. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the nigerian. The status of environmental governance in the nigerian oil. But, like most industrial activities, it produces environmental hazards that are slow poisons, in that they often take months and years to cause disease and death. Introduction it is very important to note that each time environmental issues are mentioned in nigeria, the oil and gas industry readily comes to mind.
Since then, nigeria has become africas largest oil producer, with an estimated 37. Press releaseshell faces legal action over nigerian pollution, 15 may 2008 pdf. Oil spillage is one of the greatest environmental problems, nigeria is currently battling with especially in the niger delta region. The nigerian government plans to expand its proven reserves to 40 billion barrels by 2010. Due to both habitat characteristics and omnivorous. Nigeria began producing oil in 1958, after the discovery of crude oil by shell british petroleum now royal dutch shell. Oil and gas constitute over 90% of nigerian foreign exchange earnings. Effects of oil spills on fish production in the niger delta plos. An indirect assessment of the effects of oil pollution on the diversity. John vidal wrote in his guardian blog january, 29, 20 that in his trip in january to the delta, people were telling him that if anything, the pollution was getting worse. Petroleum, pollution and poverty in the niger delta, published in 2009.
This paper examined the effects of oil pollution on the environment. From then, oil production rose from initial figures of 5,100 barrels per day bpd from the first well in oloibiri to todays production of over 25 million bpd, even though our opec quota specification is based on 2. Oil exploration, environmental degradation, and future. It is the first independent study of the impacts of oil pollution in the niger delta. Nigeria nigeria national petroleum corporation, nnpc. Oil pollution and water quality in the niger delta. The socioeconomic and ecological importance of conservation of the environment is incontestable. The ogoniland region remains afflicted with contaminated lands and water despite clean up promises. This clearly contradicts nigerias existing regulations, which require oil companies to act promptly to clean up oil spills, regardless of what caused them.
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