Petroleum Exploration and Production: Past and Present Environmental Issues in the Nigeria’s Niger Delta

Abstract

Petroleum exploration and production in the Nigeria's Niger Delta region and export of oil and gas resources by the petroleum sector has substantially improved the nation's economy over the past five decades. However, activities associated with petroleum exploration, development and production operations have local detrimental and significant impacts on the atmosphere, soils and sediments, surface and groundwater, marine environment and terrestrial ecosystems in the Niger Delta. Discharges of petroleum hydrocarbon and petroleumderived waste streams have caused environmental pollution, adverse human health effects, socioeconomic problems and degradation of host communities in the 9 oil-producing states in the Niger Delta region. Many approaches have been developed for the management of environmental impacts of petroleum production-related activities and several environmental laws have been institutionalized to regulate the Nigerian petroleum industry. However, the existing statutory laws and regulations for environmental protection appear to be grossly inadequate and some of the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region have failed to adopt sustainable practices to prevent environmental pollution. This review examines the implications of multinational oil companies operations and further highlights some of the past and present environmental issues associated with petroleum exploitation and production in the Nigeria's Niger Delta. Although effective understanding of petroleum production and associated environmental degradation is importance for developing management strategies, there is a need for more multidisciplinary approaches for sustainable risk mitigation and effective environmental protection of the oilproducing host communities in the Niger Delta.

Distribution of breeding humpback whale habitats and overlap with cumulative anthropogenic impacts in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic

“…1 Oil platforms, used as a proxy for presence of hydrocarbon industry activity, were identified as the most influential anthropogenic threat in the overall CUI, indicating that hydrocarbon development may be of most risk to humpbacks in this region. The presence of industrial development, namely oil and gas exploration and production, is relatively high in these areas and is a large source of revenue for many countries in the region (Ite, Ibok, Ite, & Petters, 2013;NIMASA, 2018;Udie, Bhattacharyya, & Ozawa-Meida, 2018; ejatlas.org). Tagged humpbacks travelled through areas of oil platforms off the coast of Gabon, where the model also identified 1 https ://www.fishe ries.noaa.gov/natio nal/marine-life-distr ess/2016-2019-humpb ack-whale-unusu al-morta lity-event-along-atlan tic-coast high breeding habitat suitability and high CUI scores (Figure 4b) .…”

Fostering Sustainable Development: A Corporate Social Responsibility Approach

“…Owolabi and Okonkwo (2015) and Renouard (2011) argued and concluded that the region is experiencing increases in social inequality, worsened health and economic condition, and water pollution and soil degradation, which has resulted in the reductions in wildlife and fisheries. Ite et al (2013) and Ebegbulem, Ekpe, and Adejumo (2013) added that these outcomes are linked to the exploitation and production of oil and gas in the region. Hence, the resultant effect of oil producing companies' operations and activities by association.…”

Functioning of Coastal River-Dominated Ecosystems and Implications for Oil Spill Response: From Observations to Mechanisms and Models

“…Oil drilling has resulted in repeated spills and significant environmental damage in areas such as the Niger River Delta (Ite et al, 2013) and will continue to threaten similar habitats globally ( Figure 7). Principles derived, and patterns described, from CONCORDE's interdisciplinary approach to identifying and quantitatively assessing key physical, biological, and geochemical processes acting in the nGOM are applicable to other pulsed, river-dominated systems, even though there may be differing ecological communities, volumes of river discharge, and degrees of oil extraction activities relative to the nGOM.…”