Nigerian environment costs grow

摘要

Environmental damage in the troubled Niger delta is cost- ing firms lost output and the risk of hefty court fines. Criminal attacks against pipelines have accelerated sharply since a presidential amnesty was taken up by rebel groups in 2009. State-owned oil firm NNPC estimates that almost 180,000 b/d of the country’s 2.2mn b/d oil output is stolen. The environmental damage caused by the deliberate rupturing of oil and gas pipelines and illegal refining is far- reaching, but the insecurity of the delta means that this cannot be monitored accurately or resolved quickly.