CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 DEFINITION OF TERMS
- Environment: Basically, although there are many interpretation of what is meant by the term “environment”, it is still necessary to establish a central working definition as the basic upon which environmental law operates and which defines the scope of this seminar review. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act (FEPA, 1990) provides a useful starting point under section 38, “Environment” includes water, air, land and all plants and human beings or animals living therein and the inter-relationship which exist among these or any of them). This is clearly a very wide definition which encompasses and encapsulates environmental changes ranging from ecological problems such as damage to natural habitat and the conservation of flora and fauna and more obvious problems such as noxious emission into the atmosphere.
It is pertinent to observe that with such a wide ranging definition covering such divers issues, it would be impossible within FEPA Act of 1990, to address all these areas.
Apart from the FEPA Act of 1990, other definitions can be examined. The environment as defined by UNESCO as all stock of physical and social measures available at a given time and in given location for the satisfaction of human needs and aspirations. (UNESCO, 1995).
Also, “the environment” is a description of physical matter being the air, the sea, land, natural resources, flora and fauna and the cultural heritage (being items of archeological, historical, artistic and scientific interest).
This review shall cover all related environmental issues in oil and gas industries of Nigeria.
- Environmental Issues: It is natural human surrounding and activities which include biological components and processes of natural environment of land, water and air. It was includes all layers in the atmosphere inorganic and organic matters (Both living and non-living) socio economic component s and processes of the human environment.
These components and processes include social, economic, technology, administrative, cultural, historical, archaeological components and processes land and associated resources structures, sites, human health nutrition and safety inclusive.
iii. Oil and Gas in Nigeria industry are Nigeria strategic minerals: Based on “Official Government Estimates, the oil sector accounts for 70 – 80 percent of the Government revenue (depending on the oil price) around 90 percent of export earnings and about prices” (Takon, 2014).
On the international level, Nigeria is among the world’s top 10 oil exporter and Niger Delta generates a substantial amount of the nation’s production capacity and houses a significant proportion of the country’s oil infrastructure (Alagoa, 1990).
The Niger Delta is important of Nigeria’s oil-centric economy and inevitably elicits world attention because of the global importance of oil and its centrality to the global economy. This is demonstrated, first by oil’s high energy content based on available technology; second, the relative cheapness of oil in terms of average production cost vis-à-vis other researched sources of energy; and third no less important, the apparent ease of transportation of the product internally and externally (Klare, 2001).
Field research suggests that gas flaring, oil spillage and pipeline networks- the by-products of oil activities in Niger Delta might have contributed to the environmental degradation in the region directly and or indirectly (Oyelara – Oyeyinka 1995) while a network of pipeline crisscross communities and homes, gas flaring is described as an unpleasant sight to populations living next to them. According to OPEC, Nigeria produced a total of 22.8 billion barrels of oil from 1958 to 2003 and from Shell’s record, an average of a thousand cubic feet of gas is flared per barrel and when computed, it implies that 22.8 trillion was flared during this period (Rowell, Marriot and Stockman 2005). However, decades of gas flaring and its impact on the environment remains contentious issue, a sore point in the relationship between oil communities oil companies and government of Nigeria and less so in developed countries with oil resources.
The operation of Nigeria’s oil industry are in three major areas, namely, crude oil exploration and exploitation, refining and products transportation and marketing.
Since 1956, when the first oil well was drilled, over 1,481 oil wells have sprung up producing from 159 oil fields. These are more than 7,000 kilometers of pipelines and flow lines and 275 flow station operated by more than 13 oil companies (UNDP 2006).
Nigeria’s crude production stood at about 2.68 million bpd as at February 2012 (Arizechi, 2012).
Nigeria has four (4) refineries (Port Harcourt I and II, Warri and Kaduna) with a combined capacity of about 450,000 bpd. The refineries came under the management and ownership by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in January 1986. All the refineries produce the normal range of products which include Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Premium Motor Spirit, Dual Purpose Kerosene, Aviation turbines Kerosene and Automatic Gas Oil (DPR, 2013).
The Petroleum Products and Marketing Company (PPMC) a subsidiary of the NNPC ensures that refined petroleum products are distributed nationwide from the refineries. They are transported through a national network of pipelines linking all the 21 petroleum products storage depots strategically located all over the country. The PPMC distribution network is made up of three separate systems for the supply of gasoline, kerosene and diesel and complemented by coastal barges and road haulage from the refineries and depots to marketers outlets nationwide (NNPC 2011).
1.2 Background Information
Environment – related problems in the Niger delta region of Nigeria have attracted growing but limited research to responsibility for it from either oil activities or other known means. Determining the degree and or causes of environmental damage which are difficult to establish involves technical details beyond the ordinary competence living next to oil operations lack the skills and resources to embark on the complex venture of investigating environmental damage beyond the ordinary competence of the victims in Niger Delta to configure. The communities living next to embark on the complex more topical since the 1990s. This situation becomes more frustrating for these communities for a variety of reasons disposal; sometimes oil companies and national support responses may not be timely or in connance with best international businesses practices and lastly a lack of political will often associated with developing economics (Khan, 1994).
Oil and gas are Nigeria Strategic mineral. Based on “Official government estimates the oil sector accounts for 70 – 80 percent of the Federal Government Revenue (Depending on the oil Price) around 90 percent of export earnings and about 25 percent of GDP measured at constant basic prices” (Takon 2014 pp. 587). On the international level, Nigeria is among the world’s top 10 oil exporters and Niger Delta generates a substantial amount of the nation’s production capacity and houses a significant proportion of the country’s oil infrastructure (Alagoa, 1999).
The Niger Delta is important to Nigeria oil centric economy and inevitably elicits world attention because of the global importance of oil and its centrality to the global economy. This is demonstrated, first by oil’s high energy content based on available technology; second the relative cheapness of oil in terms of average production cost vis-à-vis other researched sources of energy; and third and no less important the apparent ease of transportation of the product internally and externally (Klare, 2001).
Mare’s work captures the significance of oil as the only energy source that is intensive use in every modern economy. In this context, Nigeria’s huge offshore and onshore crude oil deposits in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria established the country as an important petroleum prospective zone since traditional basins are witnessing pace with rising global consumption particularly china. India and United States (Roberts, 2004).
The Niger Delta is washed by the Gulf of Guinea and hence the region is part of the South Atlantic waters which adjoins the Gulf of Guinea countries, namely; Angola Cameron. This regions location in the Gulf of Guinea means that it because of the contribution it is poised to make to the global oil supply in the coming decades. The is despite the recent rise of interest in shale gas in the United Kingdom and United States, key importers of Nigeria’s Crude, the cornerstone of the Gulf of Guinea’s oil wealth accounting for 60% of it. (Robert, 2019).
1.3 Statement of the Problems
Oil exploration and exploration has been on-going for several decades in the Niger Delta consist of diverse ecosystem of mangrove swamps, fresh water swamps, rain forest and is the largest wetland in Africa and among the ten most important wetland and marine ecosystems in the world, but due to oil pollution the area is now characterized by contaminated streams and rivers, forest destruction and biodiversity loss in general, the area is an ecological wasteland, This affects the livelihood of the indigenous people who depend on the ecosystem services for survival leading to increase poverty and displacement of people. The oil industry located within this region has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country which is a fact that cannot be disputes but unsustainable oil exploration activities has rendered the Niger Delta region one of the five most severely petroleum damage ecosystems in the world.
The onshore and offshore activities in the Niger Delta area have generated massive wealth and have contributed most to the socio-economic development of Nigeria. The industry with its huge economic and social benefits has created serious health and environmental pollution problems for the country in general and the host communities of the oil companies in particular. It was evident that Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was hardly undertaken prior to the approval of any project. Violent protests by communities are the most eloquent testimonies of the resistance to environmental pollution by the activities of the oil Companies (Akpata, 2014).
Conflict in the Niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations, the Nigerian Federal Government and a number of the Niger Delta’s ethnics group who felt they were being exploited, particularly minority groups like the Ogoni as well as the I jaw in the late 1990s. The crisis over environmental pollution and economic marginalization from the oil industry reached its peak in January 1993 when 300,000 Ogoni protested against the oil companies. Such popular unrest grew steadily, where various ethnic groups began demanding compensation for years of ecological damage as well as control over their lands oil resources. This unrest manifested itself at the outset as peaceful activist organizations that united their members on the basis of ethnicity. It culminated in the killing of Ken Saro-wiwa and other in Ogun land (Akpata, 2014).
Ever since the 1972 stockholm United Nations conference on the human environmental, environmental issues have become transactional. Awareness has been created of the divesting impact of uncontrolled exploitation of the environmental resources. Since the issuance of Environmental guidelines and standards and other legal/administrative framework governing EIA in Nigeria (Akpata, 2014).
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THIS REVIEW
The overall aim of this review is to collate in one volume all the information on the environmental issues associated with oil and gas exploration and production activities in Nigeria. Some specific objectives of this review included:-
- To review the overview of oil and gas exploration and production activities and associated impacts on environment and the inhabitants in Niger Delta region.
- To collate the effects of oil spills and associated environmental impacts on biodiversity in the region.
- To make appropriate recommendations on how the Niger Delta crisis can be effectively tackled.
- To review all the environmental issues associated with each activity of the different oil and gas sectors in Nigeria.
- To review resources degradation due to oil and gas activities in Nigeria.
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