Latest update February 11th, 2025 5:03 AM
Latest News
- Twelve-year-old girl missing for three weeks
- Guard shot as bandits attack Cummings Lodge supermarket
- Pressure mounts for full probe into corrupt land deals
- ‘Berbice will need airport to complement second gas project, deep-water port’ – Pres. Ali
- City Hall stands firm on ownership of lands given to Qatari investors to build hotel
Nigeria recorded over 4,000 oil spill cases in six years
Kaieteur News – Oil spills are inevitable and they are quite costly and damaging to the environment. An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon or distilled products into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem.
A Nigerian showing the oil that contaminated their environment. [Photo credit, The Economist]
According to an INSIGHT article, the oil spill cases are equivalent to 38.5 million litres of crude loss, which represents an average of about 62 cases and 3,362 barrels of oil spills every month.
It was reported that in the six years, sabotage, equipment failure, corrosion, and operational/maintenance errors were major causes of oil spills in Nigeria.
It was reported that the highest incidents of oil spills were caused by sabotage – in which 201,025 barrels were spilt, from 3,299 incidents. Sabotage is of course the deliberate destruction of pipelines used in conveying the crude oil.
Moreover, equipment failure issues caused the second-highest number of oil spills with 26,912 barrels from 442 cases, while corrosion (deterioration of facilities) caused 291 cases, which resulted in 4,466 barrels of the oil spills.
Further, unstated issues accounted for 273 cases; maintenance error caused 109 cases, resulting in 3,733 barrels of oil spills, while the cause of 72 cases of oil leaks is yet to be ascertained.
According to the report, the reason behind the spillage of 4,378 barrels of oil was not yet determined by the agency, while the cause of incidents culminating in 1,679 barrels of crude oil loss was unspecified.
Oil spill incidents occurred 921 times in 2015, resulting in a loss of 47,714 barrels of oil, the highest within the period under review.
In 2016, 688 cases of oil spills occurred, culminating in a volume of 42,744 barrels of oil. In 2017 and 2018, 596 and 706 cases of oil spills occurred and resulted in the spillage of 34,887 and 27,985 barrels of oil, respectively.
Oil spills occurred on 732 occasions, spewing 41,381 barrels of oil in 2019, and 455 cases were recorded in 2020 with 23,526 barrels of oil.
In 2021, companies reported 388 incidents, resulting in 23,956 barrels of oil. The present administration had pledged to ensure compliance with policies and measures to halt the pollution of rivers and waterways in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
According to the data, oil spills occurred in 16 states, including the federal capital territory (FCT), during the period under review. The states include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, Ondo, Rivers, Bauchi, Ogun, Niger, and Zamfara.
The five-highest cases of oil spills occurred in the Niger Delta region — Rivers (1408), Bayelsa (1028), Delta (862), Akwa Ibom (305), and Imo (101) — in the six years. It culminated in about 82 per cent of the total oil spill incidents in the affected states. Some oil spill incidents affected multiple states, according to NOSDRA.
According to INSIGHT, the data is based on the paper records of joint investigation visits (JIVs), and it is “updated on an ongoing basis”. NOSDRA noted that there are concerns about regulatory compliance relating to the reporting and clean-up of oil spills by the companies responsible.
Despite the promises, oil spills have continued to threaten the sanctity of the ecosystem, especially in the Niger Delta — pervading lands, mangroves, creeks, and rivers.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Kaieteur Sports- The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has officially announced the national training squad, with the country’s top pugilists vying for selection to represent Guyana at the 2025...
Features/Columnists
Forward to the past
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News-Guyana’s debt profile, both foreign and domestic, has become a focal point of economic... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
