Environmental Policies and Strategies in Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry: Gains, Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The paper reviews environmental policies and strategies in the Nigerian oil and gas industry sector, assessing its efficiency, challenges and prospects. Essentially, the study established that the Environmental Policies and Strategies of Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry have impacted positively on the Nigerian environment over the years, especially in the area of awareness creation for all stake-holders. In terms of challenges, inefficiency of the regulators due to inadequacy of logistics, poor environmental data base, duplication and overlaps of regulators functions are some of the challenges identified. The prospect of environmental policies and strategies in Nigeria is generally considered to be bright, considering the fact that the industry is still evolving. Relevant recommendations were made on how to achieve improvements.

Economic Instruments for Environmental Sustainability in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector

“…The work of Elenwo and Akankali [17] traced the development and evolution of environmental laws and regulatory framework to the early years of independence and divided it into three major generations. The work obviously did not take into cognizance the laws in operation in the colonial period.…”

“…It is pertinent to note that the Petroleum Act 1969 was a Landmark law that governs the oil and gas industry. In order to effectively evaluate and monitor the discharges into the environment, the petroleum industry is divided into six stages of operation [17]. These are explorations, production, terminal operations, hydrocarbon processing, oil transportation and marketing activities.…”

“…Other important components of the institutional arrangements included Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and professional bodies. Elenwo and Akankali [17] argued that though this category of institution is contributing meaningfully to green Nigeria, their roles are barely recognized. The Environmental Managers Association of Nigeria (EMAN) has the potentials as the council to regulate environmental practice in Nigeria.…”

Use of stakeholder engagement to support policy transfer: A case of contaminated land management in Nigeria

“…Maintaining confidence and trust between stakeholders is critical for business success (Elenwo and Akankali, 2014). Regulators most frequently mentioned their inability to mitigate environmental degradation and to promptly clean-up spill sites.…”

Risk Management and Regulatory Failure in the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria: Reflections on the Impact of Environmental Degradation in the Niger Delta Region

“…The petroleum industry is a complex combination of interdependent operations that generates mixed blessingwealth and fortune on the one hand, and environmental injustices and hopelessness on the other hand. More crucially, the debates over risk and environmental management in Nigeria have continued to attract serious attention due to lack of deliberate national policy aimed at environmental protection (Elenwo and Akankali 2014). There is virtual lack of knowledge of the workability of interdependent linkage between development processes and environmental factors.…”