Assessment of Oil Spill Occurrences in Sections of the Niger Delta Region: Causes, Effects and Remedial Actions

摘要

The incessant pollution of land and water by crude oil and petroleum products in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria poses significant threats to its ecosystem. This region is known for its increasing oil spills because of its large oil deposits and growing oil and gas related industrial activities. Cases of unattended oil spills are also prevalent in these regions which have resulted in the persistence of large amounts of oil in the affected soils thus requiring effective ways of oil removal. It has been reported that these sites are poorly and most often never investigated to know the extent of contamination and as a result there is high possibility of accumulation of these pollutants in these affected areas. This paper, however, seeks to address this problem by giving an insight into some of the major causes of oil spill occurrences within NPDC Operational areas in Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Port-Harcourt regions of the Niger Delta. Oil Spill data analysis done for the past 6 years (2011 to 2016) revealed that third party interferences which include sabotage, vandalism and crude oil theft accounted for 74.4% of the spillages within these regions. While 25.3% of spillages occurred due to corrosion, equipment failure and human error, less than 1% was ascribed to unknown and unidentifiable causes. Out of the estimated 44, 034.35 barrels of oil involved during these periods, about 37,279.84 barrels (approximately 85%) constituted the amount spilled through vandalism ranging from activities such as the use of hacksaw, dynamites and explosives on pipelines; and crude oil theft through hot tapping and illegal oil bunkering. The most prevalent vandalism occurrence was recorded along the Trans Forcados export pipeline axis within (OML 30) Delta State, a marine and seasonal swamp terrain.