ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY OIL INDUSTRY: HOW FEASIBLE?

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

The current Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Mrs. Pauline Tallen was once a minister of State for Science and Technology during the immediate past Federal Administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. That administration pursued the issue of environmental pollution with zeal and determination and is responsible for the creation of some strategic governmental institutions charged with the statutory duty of ensuring a clean environment for Nigeria.

This woman from the beautiful Plateau State wrote the foreword to the book “ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND DEGRADATION” authored by two Environmentalists- OKONKWO and EBOATU. Tallen’s foreword to that beautiful book is an appropriate way to begin our piece today. She wrote thus;

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“Environmental issues have perhaps attracted more lively discussions than any scientific topics these recent years. This is because man suddenly realized that his dirty habits are wreaking a terrible havoc on his ecosystem – acid rain, ozone layer depreciation, deforestation and dissertation, oil spills, erosion, global warming, solid waste, toxic chemicals. These contaminants, pollutants and toxicants in forms of solid , liquids and gases that are spewed day-in-day out into the environment by anthropogenic activities, are threatening the very fragile fabric and has exposed our very tenuous existence on this hitherto beautiful planet.”

Writing specifically about environmental issues as it affects Nigeria cannot be complete without analytically discussing the oil industry which for years has become Nigeria’s dominant foreign exchange earner. Crude oil in Nigeria is heavily concentrated in the Niger-Delta region and the activities of the multinational firms that engage in the business of oil exploration have largely contributed to the ecological damage, environmental despoliation and degradation resulting from leakage/blowout of oil companies and other nefarious activities attributed to gangs of vandals.

Experts believe that the incidence of oil spillage has for a long time now, posed grave danger for the environment of the oil rich communities and when these mess are not effectively cleaned up, the inhabitants in that segment of the Nigerian Society have witnessed monumental threats to their lives. The original means of survival of the majority of the Niger-Delta region which are fishing and farming have been wiped off by these environmental problems as highlighted above.

The people of the oil-producing communities therefore feel that they have been unduly subjected to deprivation, marginalization and economically exploited and all these factors have effectively combined to lead to the escalation of youth restiveness, militancy and other violent tendencies which inevitably posed serious danger to the economy of Nigeria because of the mono-economic out-look of the country whereby we as a nation rely substantially on revenues accruable from sale of the vanishing crude oil as our main source of foreign-exchange earner.

The above environmental challenges compelled the Federal Government to create the institutional frameworks and platforms to clean-up the environment. Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, the head of pubic affairs of the National Oil Spill Detection And Response Agency (NOSDRA) gave an account of what gave rise to the creation of that Agency and stated in a well researched paper that environmental despoliation and degradation resulting from leakage/blowout of facilities of oil companies and nefarious activities of pipeline oil vandals which often leads to oil spillage and the attendant catastrophic out-break of fire as necessary factors that fired on the Federal Government and the other Stake holders, the zeal to set up an Agency of government to check such environmental problems.

However, while some vocal Nigerian Human Rights Activists say that this Federal Agency set up by the immediate past Administration in 2006 has not done much to impact on the environmental life of the oil-producing communities, officials of the Agency say otherwise.

International scholars who say that Government has not done much since 2006 when The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency came on board have written severally on the causes of oil spillage and environmental pollution in Nigeria.

Just like leading Human and Environmental Rights Activists believe that the multi-national oil firms in the country have not been effectively compelled to come clean on their oil exploration activities in the Niger-Delta oil bearing communities, these category of persons also believe that most Multi-National Corporations Operating in the country do not fulfill their obligation to restore the devastated environment.

Environmental Scientists say that, “Oil spills in Nigeria occur due to a number of causes, including: corrosion of pipelines and tankers (accounting for 50% of oil spills), sabotage (28%), and oil production operations (21%), with 1% of the spills being accounted for by inadequate or non-functional production equipment. The largest contributor to the oil spill total, corrosion of pipes and tanks, is the rupturing or leaking of production infrastructures that are described as “very old and lack regular inspection and maintenance”. A reason that corrosion accounts for such a high percentage of all spills is that as a result of the small size of the oilfields in the Niger-Delta, there is an extensive network of pipelines between the fields, as well as numerous small networks of flow lines- the narrow diameter pipes that carry oil from wellheads to flow stations- allowing many opportunities for leaks. In onshore areas, most pipelines and flow lines are laid above ground. Pipelines which have an estimate life span of about fifteen years are very old and susceptible to corrosion. Many of the pipelines are as old as twenty to twenty-five years. Even Shell admits that “most of the facilities were constructed between the 1960s and early 1980s to the then prevailing standards. SPDC (Shell Petroleum and Development Company) would not build them that way today.” Sabotage is performed primarily through what is known as “ bunkering”, whereby the saboteur attempts to tap the pipeline. In the process of extraction sometimes the pipeline is damaged or destroyed. Oil extracted in this manner can often be sold for cash compensation.”

“Sabotage and theft through oil siphoning has become a major issue in the Niger-Delta states as well, contributing to further environmental degradation. Damaged lines may go unnoticed for days, and repair of the damaged pipes takes even longer. Oil siphoning has become a big business, with the stolen oil quickly making its way into the black market. While the popularity of selling stolen oil increases, the number of deaths is increasing. In late December 2006 more people than 200 people were killed in the Lagos region of Nigeria in an oil line explosion.” These observations as made by an environmental Scientist is apt.

Officials of NOSDRA corroborated some aspects of the claim by some Human and Environmental Rights Activists when two powerful media statements were recently issued warning some major Multi-National oil firms to come clean on their activities in the oil producing states especially with regards to the environment.

In one of the two recent public statements, the Director General and Chief Executive of NOSDRA reminded oil Companies of the enabling Act that set up the Federal Government Agency. The Director General\ Chief Executive of National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Dr. Bamidele A. Ajakaiye, advised oil prospecting companies against further violations of the provisions of the NOSDRA Act.

In a recent letter to sixty-six oil Companies, including, Chevron, Mobil, Shell, and Elf, Dr. Ajakaiye mentioned areas of violation by the oil firms to include provisions dealing with early reporting of oil spills and prompt clean-up and remediation of imparted sites, as well as handling of negotiations leading to compensation of affected communities.

The boss of the Federal Agency recounted several interactive sessions he had with the oil firms and visits to their head offices, as well as a consultative forum and workshops held, which were aimed at acquainting the companies with the mandates of NOSDRA.

He, however, urged them to cooperate with the Agency in its mandates and ensure that its staff, particularly those in health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Department, were reacquainted with the provisions of the NOSDRA Act, warning that further violation of the Act will attract sanctions from the Agency based on its enabling laws. Besides, the second public statementspecifically charged Chevron to step-up remediation of Abiteye- Escravos, Ilaje spills.

In the statement issued to the media dated March 3 rd, 2009 and endorsed by the Agency’s hard-working Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, the National Oil Spill Detection & Response Agency (NOSDRA) called on Chevron Nigeria Limited to step-up remediation efforts at oil impacted sites in Abiteye-Escravos in Delta State and Ilaje in Ondo State to ease certification of the sites of the Agency. It will be recalled that the Abiteye-Escravo pipeline oil spillage occurred in October 2006, while that of Illaje happened in June 2007.

In a recent letter to Chevron, the Director-General\Chief Executive of NOSDRA, Dr. Bamidele A. Ajakaiye, recalled that the clean-up exercise of those impacted sites was yet to be certified by the Agency due to a post-spill impact assessment (PIA) not being conducted on the sites.

While attributing the development to the recalcitrant and uncooperative attitude of some of the representatives of the oil firm, Dr. Ajakaiye, however, stated that the Agency had resolved to undertake the (PIA) of the affected impacted sites in the first week of April but with a caveat that the firm will bear the pecuniary cost of the exercise based on the “Polluter Pays Principle”.

In addition, the DG\CE said the issuance of the remediation certificate, as required by law, to Chevron will depend on the out come of the exercise.

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He, however, warned that NOSDRA will no longer condone delay in effecting clean-up of oil impacted sites by Chevron, as witnessed in Illaje, which took more than a year before any reasonable action was taken.

Just like most scientists, we in the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria feel strongly that the various Multi-National oil Companies who have been involved in the activities of crude oil exploration in the last five decades since crude oil was found in commercial quantities must be compelled to do more in cleaning up the environment where they engage in these activities.

It is a fact that the Marine and eco-life of these environments have undergone several devastating consequences and the professional activities of the ordinary fish farmers and other category of Agriculturalists have been adversely affected.

Another strategic problem that ought to be tackled frontally is that of gas flaring.

Scientists say that: “Gas flares can have potentially harmful effects on the health and livelihood of the communities in their vicinity as they release a variety of poisonous chemicals. Just some of the combustion by-products include nitrogen dioxides, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds like benzene, toluene, xylene and hydrogen sulfide, as well as carcinogens like benzappyrene and dioxin. Humans exposed to such substances can suffer from a variety of respiratory problems, which have been reported amongst many children in the Delta but have apparently gone uninvestigated. These chemicals can aggravate asthma, cause breathing difficulties and pain, as well as chronic bronchitis. Of particular note is that the chemical, benzene which is known to be emitted from gas flares in undocumented quantities, is well researched as being a causative agent for leukemia and other blood related diseases. A study done by Climate Justice estimates that exposure to benzene would result in eight new cases of cancer yearly in Bayelsa State alone.”

The researchers also say that; “Gas flares are often located close to local Communities, and regularly lack adequate fencing or protection for villagers who may risk nearing the tremendous heat of the flare in other to carry out their daily activities. Many of these Communities claim that nearby flames cause acid-rain which corrodes their homes and other local structures, many of which have Zink-based roofing. Some people resort to the use of Abestos-based material, which is stronger in repelling acid-rain deterioration. Unfortunately this only contributes to their own declining health and health of their environment. Asbestos exposure increases the risk of forming lung cancer, mesotholioma, and asbestosis.”

The scientific report concludes that: “Whether or not flares contribute to acid-rain is debatable, as some independent studies conducted have found that the sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide content of most flares was insufficient to establish a link between flaring and acid-rain. Other studies from U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA), report that gas flaring is a major contributor of the acid-rain”.

“Flares which are often older and insufficient are rarely relocated away from villages, and are known to coat the land and Communities in the area with soot and to damage adjacent vegetation. Almost no vegetation can grow in the area directly surrounding the flare due to the tremendous heat it produces.”

These scholars reminded us that: “In November 2005 the Federal High Court of Nigeria ordered that gas flaring must stop in a Niger-Delta Community as it violates guaranteed constitutional rights to life and dignity. In a case brought against Shell Petroleum Development company of Nigeria SHELL), Justice C.V. Nwokorie ruled in Benin City that “the damaging and wasteful practice of flaring cannot lawfully continue.”

It is a fact that the Federal Government is dilly dallying with the so-called dead-line for gas flare in the oil producing Communities. This deadline for gas flare has consistently remained inconsistent and officials of Government have incoherently sought to justify this confusion.

We in the Human Rights Community in Nigeria hereby strongly canvass adequate funding of NOSDRA and other proactive Federal Agencies that have been set up to effectively check the trend of Environmental degradation in Nigeria because of the devastating consequences of climate change.