$12bn Needed For Oil Pollution Cleanup In Niger Delta

A study carried out by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission has said that Nigeria would need about $12 billion to clean up and restore the Niger Delta environment devastated by decades-long oil pollution.
The report, which is titled, “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria,” captured over 60 years of oil exploration and pollution.”
The study which was carried out by an international panel of experts and notable players in the oil and gas and environmental matters said that Bayelsa State was particularly “in the grip of a human and environmental catastrophe of devastating proportions.”
The report of the study is based on over 2,500 shreds of evidence including 500 interviews and analyses of 1,600 blood samples from local people.
It said, over the years one and a half barrels of oil had been spilled in Bayelsa State for each person living in the state.
It said, “Once home to one of the largest mangrove forests on the planet, rich in ecological diversity and value, the region is now one of the most polluted places on earth.
“At least, $12 billion is needed to clean up the soil and drinking water, reduce the health risk to people and restore mangrove forests essential to stopping floods.”
The report further said years of oil pollution have had devastating impact on soil, water and wildlife, adding that the amount of oil pumped since commercial exploitation began and perhaps weighed to reflect the company’s pollution record.”
It was a study that took four years to investigate. As part of its recommendations, the commission called on Shell and Eni, whose local subsidiaries still operate in the region, to provide part of the funding for the project.
Meanwhile, Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited have dismissed claims made against them by the Bayelsa Commission’s pollution report
Agip criticized the commission for not including the oil companies in its study and alleged that the commission lacked “institutional character”.
Shell however insisted the pollution was due largely to sabotage and oil theft.
Shell, Agip and Chevron operate oilfields in the areas covered by the report.
Agip’s response contained in a statement by management of its parent company, said, “We do not attribute any value to a report for which we have not been consulted, and made by a commission that, despite its name, does not have any institutional character.
“In Nigeria, over the last 10 years, almost the whole of hydrocarbon spills are due to so-called “third-party interference,” which specifically means oil thefts to feed illegal refineries as well as illegal exports and sabotages.
“The company undertakes to remedy in all cases, both when spills are both operational and due to theft or sabotage. The trend of spills in the region decreased over the last few years also thanks to the important interventions carried out by Eni to guarantee the asset integrity, among other things,” Eni stated.
On its part, Shell said it operates in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Mrs Bola Essien-Nelson, SPDC’s Media Relations Manager, who attributed the most of the pollution within its operations to vandalism and oil theft, further explained that even when the company did not cause oil spills in its area of operations, it responds quickly to clean up when spills originate from its facilities.
“Our teams continue to collaborate with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders with the aim of eradicating crude theft from our facilities.