Impact of oil spillage on the socio-economic status of inhabitants in oil spill areas

Introduction

The effect of oil resource extraction on the environment of the Niger Delta has been very glaring in terms of its negative effect on the region. Inya (2011), stated that “oil exploration and exploitation have over the last four decades impacted disastrously on the socio-physical environment of the Niger Delta oil-producing communities, massively threatening the subsistent peasant economy and the environment and hence the entire livelihood and basic survival of the people”. Suffice to note that, while oil extraction has caused negative socio-economic and environmental problems in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian State has benefited immensely from petroleum since it was discovered in commercial quantities in 1956.

The Coastal zone is richly endowed with a variety of minerals. The most important of these are oil and gas. Since the first shipment of Crude oil in 1958, there has been an upsurge in oil exploration activities in Nigeria. These have led to the discovery of numerous oil fields and subsequently to the development of various oil terminals (Ozobia, 1998).The proven oil reserves of the country are approximately 30 billion barrels and it produces approximately 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. The discovery of oil in 1956 transformed Nigeria’s political economy and it has earned around $340 billion over the past 40 years. The country’s dependence on oil revenue is immense. It accounts for 90- 95 % of export revenue, over 90% of foreign exchange earnings and 80% of oil revenue (Inya, 2011).

There is no doubt that the Nigerian oil industry has affected the country in a variety of ways at the same time. On the one hand, it has fashioned a remarkable economic landscape for the country. However, on the negative side, petroleum exploration and production also have adverse effects on fishing and farming which are the traditional means of livelihood of the people of the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta. If the oil is considered in view of its enormous contributions to foreign exchange earnings, it has achieved a remarkable success.

On the other scale, when considered in respect of its negative impact on the socioeconomic life and the environment of the immediate oil producing local communities, and its inhabitants, it has left a balance sheet of ecological and socio-physical disaster (Achi, 2008).

There are many sources of environmental damage, but clearly a major source of environmental and social degradation is oil spillage. Leaks from old, corroded and poorly maintained pipelines and installations including both producing and abandoned oil pipelines, effluent and toxic sludge, toxic drillings mud, tank and tanker hold washing, oil in gas flares, blow outs and other spills occur continuously. Many of these spills are now being caused by the many aggrieved residents.

Oil spillage impacts heavily on the health of humans and resources such as agricultural land, fresh water, mangroves, fish and shellfish. Perceived oil company indifference to human suffering from oil spills, gas flaring and the activities affecting the environment and people has caused many serious problems. The current situation is very delicate as the communities are bitter, angry and distrust the oil companies.

Oil spillage

Oil spills are the uncontrolled discharge of oil or its by-products including chemicals and wastes, into the environment. When an oil spill occurs, the oil being less dense than water floats. The highest most volatile hydrocarbons start to evaporate initially decreasing the volume of spill somewhat but polluting the air. Then a slow decomposition process sets in, due to sunlight and bacterial action. After several months, the mass may be reduced to about 15 percent of the starting quantity, and what are left are mainly thick asphalt lumps. These can persist for many months more (Carla, 2010).

Oil spillages are a regular feature of life in the Delta. They are rarely dealt with promptly. In some cases, minor leaks are left for months, resulting in major pollution. Oil spills are caused by variety of factors such as blowout, equipment failure, burst/rupture of flow line/pipelines, corrosion of flow line/pipelines, overpressure, overflow (tanks), valve failure, hose failure/single buoy moorings(SMB), operator/maintenance error, engineering error, sand cut (erosion), accident, sabotage, etc. (Awobayo, 2011) Whichever way, oil spillage damages the environment.

Oil spillage is categorized into four groups; minor, medium, major, and disaster. A minor spill takes place when the oil discharge is less than 25 barrels in inland waters or less than 250 barrels on land; offshore or coastal waters that does not pose a threat to the public health or welfare. In the case of medium, the spill must be 250 barrels or less in the inland water or 250 to 2,500 barrels on land, offshore and coastal water while for the major spill, the discharge to the inland waters is in excess of 250 barrels on land, offshore or coastal waters. The disaster refers to any uncontrolled well blowout, pipeline rupture or storage tank failure which poses an imminent threat to the public health or welfare (Nwilo and Badejo, 2007).

Incidence of oil spillage

Oil spill incidences have occurred in various parts at different lines along the coast. Between 1976 and 1998, a total of 5724 incidents resulted in spill of approximately 2,571,113 x 90 barrels of oil into the environment. Some major spills in the coastal zone are the Gocon’s Escravos spill in 1978 zone of about 300,000 barrels, Shell Petroleum Dev. Co. (SPDC) Forcados Terminal tank failure in 1978 of about 580,000 barrels Texaco Funiwa 5 blow out in 1980 of about 400,000 barrels, and the Abudu pipeline spill in 1982 of about 18,818 barrels.

Other major spill incidents are the Jesse fire incidents which claimed about a thousand lives and the Idoho oil spill in January, 1998, in which about 40,000 barrels were spilled into the environment. The most publicized of all oil spills in Nigeria occurred on January 17, 1980 when a total of 37.0 million litres of crude oil got spilled in the environment. This spill occurred as a result of a blow out at Funiwa 5 offshore station. The heaviest recorded yearly spill so far occurred in 1979 and 1980 with a net volume of 694,117,13 barrels and 600,511.02 barrels respectively When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska in March 1989, 257,000 barrels of oil were spilt and massive public outcry swept through America (Niger Delta Environmental Survey [NDES], 2007).

In the Niger Delta, between 1976 and 1998, over 2.5 million barrels of oil have been spilled into the Delta environment. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation places the quantity of oil jettisoned into the environment yearly at 2,300 cubic meters with an average of 300 individual spills annually. However, because this amount does not take into “minor” spills, the World Bank argues that the true quantity of oil spilled into the environment could be as much as ten times the officially claimed amount. Among the largest individual spills include the blowout of a Texaco offshore station which in 1980 dumped an estimated 400,000 barrels (64,000 m³) of crude into the Gulf of Guinea and Shell’s Forcados Terminal tank failure which produced a spillage estimated at 580,000 barrels (92,000 m³). One source projects that the total amount oil in barrels spilled between 1960 and 1997 is upwards of 100 million barrels (16,000,000 m³) (Abii and Nwosu, 2009).

Causes of spillage

Spills are caused by a multitude of factors in the Niger Delta. These include accidental oil spills and natural oil seepage; In essence, there are diverse causes of oil spills. Abii and Nwosu (2009) identified immediate causes of the spillages range from break up or damage to oil tankers or storage vessels to sabotage by aggrieved people. Nwilo and Badejo (2007) observe that in addition to blowout, cases of local oil spills can occur as a result of improper handling or mishaps such as burst pipes or from continuous seepage from the jetties during the loading of vessels, or from the deliberate action of foreign ships dumping their oil into our waters and gas flaring. Poorly maintained infrastructure fails under high pressure. Accidents occur and pipelines running over ground get ruptured. The burgeoning trade in stolen oil means that local people tap into lines and wells damaging them or leaving them leaking. Sabotage of pipes is common, often by local people hoping to get cash compensation.

Drilling accidents have been a growing concern as more areas of the continental shelves are opened to drilling. Normally, the drill hole is coated with a steel casing to prevent lateral leaking of oil, but on occasion, the oil finds an escape route before the casing is completed. This is what happened in Santa Barbara in 1979, when a spill produced 200– square –kilometers (about 80-square miles) oil slick. Alternatively, drillers may unexpectedly hit a high-pressure pocket that causes a blow out (Carla, 2010). Tank disasters are becoming larger all the time. In 1991, the war in the Persian Gulf demonstrated yet another possible cause of major oil spills; destruction of major pipelines and refinery facilities.

Where the spills are due to failing equipment, the oil companies are clearly responsible. But where they are blamed on sabotage, the companies and government blame local people and criminal gangs. Oil spills in Nigeria occur due to a number of causes, they include: corrosion of pipelines and tankers (accounts for 50% of all spills), sabotage (28%), and oil production operations (21%, with 1% of the spills being accounted for by inadequate or non-functional production equipment (Nwilo and Badejo, 2007). The largest contributor to the oil spill total, corrosion of pipes and tanks, is the rupturing or leaking of production infrastructures that are described as, “very old and lack regular inspection and maintenance”. A reason that corrosion accounts for such a high percentage of all spills is that as a result of the small size of the oilfields in the Niger Delta, there is an extensive network of pipelines between the fields, as well as numerous small networks of flow lines—the narrow diameter pipes that carry oil from wellheads to flow stations—allowing many opportunities for leaks.

The transport of huge quantities of oil creates opportunities for major oil spills through a combination of human and natural hazards. Militancy conflict in the Middle East destabilizes shipping routes. More importantly, drilling and transport in stormy seas cause spills. Plans to drill for oil along the seismically active California and Alaska Coasts have been controversial because of the damage that spills could cause to these biologically rich coastal ecosystems (Cunningham and Cunningham, 2012).

In onshore areas, most pipelines and flow lines are laid above ground. Pipelines, which have an estimate life span of about fifteen years, are old and susceptible to corrosion. Many of the pipelines are as old as twenty to twenty-five years (NDES, 2007). Even SPDC admits that “most of the facilities were constructed between the 1960s and early 1980s to the then prevailing standard and would not build them that way today”( NDES, 2007). Sabotage and theft through oil siphoning has become a major issue in the Niger River Delta states as well, contributing to further environmental degradation (Anderson, 2005). Damaged lines may go unnoticed for days, and repair of the damaged pipes take even longer. Oil siphoning has become a big business, with the stolen oil quickly making its way onto the black market; while the popularity of selling stolen oil increases, the bodies are piling up. In late December 2006, more than 200 people were killed in the Lagos region of Nigeria in an oil line explosion (CNN, 2006). The 2006 explosion started after the oil line was tapped by people siphoning the oil, with intentions of black market resale (CNN, 2006).

Effects of oil spillage

Generally, the major contribution of mineral resources to the economy has been a source of foreign exchange, and government income, other importance include the creation of employment opportunities and the training and retraining of manpower. However, crude oil and gas apart from their positive contributions, has adverse environmental effects. The exploration and exploitation of crude oil have caused a lot of environmental disaster. Oil spills represent the largest negative impacts from the extraction and transportation of petroleum, although as a source of water pollution, they are less significant volumetrically than petroleum pollution from careless disposal of used oil. And although we tend to hear only about the occasional massive, disastrous spill, there are many more that go unreported in the media (Carla, 2010). Crude oil exploitation activities have adverse environmental effects especially in the oil producing areas. In Nigeria, for example, the creeks streams and other water bodies in these oil producing areas have been extensively polluted. Nwankwo and Ifeadi (1983) as cited in Uchegbu (2012) observed that oil pollution has caused the death of plants, animal, fishes and crabs.

According to Uchegbu (2012), the problem inherent in oil spills is widespread in their effects and long- lasting in duration. The effects of oil spills throughout the world may be the same since the vegetation, water bodies, soil and ground water are affected. Oil is toxic to massive life, it causes water birds to drown when it soaks its feathers, may decimate fish and shell fish populations, and can severely damage the economics of beach resort areas; but as long as demand for petroleum remains high, some accidents are perhaps, inevitable.

The dark film of crude oil when present on the surface of water may hinder the aeration of water body and also elevate its temperature by absorbing solar energy and killing aquatic lives. Wormald (2006) noted that diesel oil reduced the population of periwinkle for more than six months when present on the surface of water.

Crude oil is associated with some toxic heavy metals most of which contaminate the oil through underground deposits, especially lead and chromium. Iron is in great abundance in tropical and subtropical aquifers and is also associated with crude oil deposits. High iron concentrations in groundwater are widely reported from developing countries, where iron is often an important water quality issue (Enijiugha and Nwanna, 2009).

Mangrove forests are included in a highly complex tropic system. If oil directly affects any organism within an ecosystem, it can indirectly affect a host of other organisms (Achi, 2008). These floral communities rely on nutrient cycling, clean water, sunlight, and proper substrate. With ideal conditions they offer habitat structure, and input of energy via photosynthesis to the organisms they interact with. The effects of oil spills on mangroves are known to acidify the soils, halt cellular respiration, and starve roots of vital oxygen (Achi, 2008). The loss of mangrove forests is not only degrading life for plants and animals, but for humans as well (Abii and Nwosu, 2009). These systems are highly valued by the indigenous people living in the affected areas. Mangroves forests have been a major source of wood for local individuals. They also are important to a variety of species vital to subsistence practices for local indigenous groups, which unfortunately see little to none of the economic benefits of oil. Mangroves also provide essential habitat for rare and endangered species like the manatee and pygmy hippopotamus.

Inya (2011) outlined the adverse effect of oil exploration and exploitation and revealed that this activity is massively threatening the subsistent peasant economy, the environment and basic survival of the people of the Delta. Cutler and Saundry (2008) wrote on the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Encyclopaedia of earth, they revealed that on the march 24, 1989, Tanker Exxon Valdez, en route from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angeles California, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William sound, Alaska, the vessel in an attempt to avoid ice, travelled outside normal shipping lanes and spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil impacted over 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making it the largest oil spill to date in U.S water. Cutler and Saundry (2008) listed economic impacts of oil exploitation to include, recreational sports and fishing losses, tourism losses, (existence value and replacement cost of birds) and mammal’s acute mortality, positive impact was strong spill related business such as hotels, taxis, car rentals and boat charters.

Nwilo and Badejo (2007) wrote on the Biological Effects of Oil Slicks on the Aquatic Environment they asserted that some factors determine the effects of oil on aquatic life. Sometimes a combination of these factors acts simultaneously.

These factors are:

The quantity of oil, the quantity of pollution and its duration experienced by the organisms, the state of the oil which might be fresh, weathered or refined products, the season (i.e. the annual cycle of the organism) The habitat and the natural stresses to which the organism is subjected. The manners of the effects of these factors are as seen below:

1. Direct lethal toxicity.
2. Sub-lethal disruption of physiological and behavioral activities. This leads to death owing to the interference with both feeding and reproduction.
3. Direct coating or painting.
4. Entry of hydrocarbons into the food web.
5. Alteration of biological habitats.

It is a case in point that a lot of fish ponds are damaged due to oil slicks. Fish eggs and larvae suffer high rate of mortality, as against the adult fish (Nwilo and Badejo, 2007). Akpofure, Efere and Ayawei (2010) wrote on the integrated grass root impact assessment of acute damaging effects of continuous oil spill in the Niger Delta, and they emphasized that oil spills has negative effect on human psychology, (Psychomorphological personality conflicts) health, personality vulnerability, psych-socioeconomic integrity.

Impacts of oil spillage on our coastal areas are enormous; lives have been lost, the coastal habitat and ecology have also been destroyed and that there have been numerous calls and agitations for resource control by oil producing states in the country. These calls have made the Federal Government to give the states the rights to control minerals within 200 metres bathy lines and the coastlands (Nwilo and Badejo, 2007).

Control of oil spillage

Oil spills can occur when there is a problem with an oil well, when a pipeline ruptures or leaks or when there is a transportation accident such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. Since conditions are different with each spill, different methods of spill control may be used.

Some of the methods that can be used to control oil spillage according to Carla (2010) include:

1. The use of booms, which are floating barriers used to clean oil from the surface of water and to prevent slicks from spreading, skimmers which use pumps or vacuums to remove oil as it floats on water and absorbents which absorb oil when they are placed in a spill area.
2. The use of dispersants to break down oil and move it from the top of the water. Moving the oil in this way keeps it from animals which live at the surface of the water and allows it to eventually be consumed by bacteria.
3. Oil spillage control on land is often conducted manually by scooping, cleansing and scraping of the rocks and sand are performed until the oil has been removed.
4. In calm seas, if a spill is small, it may be contained by floating barriers and picked up by specially designed “skimmer ships” that can skim up to fifty barrels of oil per hour off the water surface.
5. The use of biological remediation has also been implemented in areas of the delta to detoxify and restore ecosystems damaged by oil spills. Bio-remediation essentially involves biological components in the remediation or clean -up of a specific site.

Prevention of spillage

It is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of an oil spill during the extraction, processing, and transportation of oil. It is important to have a well designed plan in place that can be used for clean up in order to limit negative impacts. However, the negotiation of increasingly stringent rules and regulations, along with continued research, make it possible for oil spills to become even more sporadic and less catastrophic (Okereke, Olekezie and Obasi, 2007).

The following are preventive measures for oil spillage as identified by Okereke, et al., (2007):

1. Double-hulled tankers and tug boat escorts are now mandatory for oil tankers in the transportation of crude oil.
2. Satellite imagery combined with the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be put to work to quickly identify and track spilled oil to hasten the cleanup of spills regional clean up sites along the problem areas could help contain spills more quickly.
3. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) should work in synergy to prevent and clean up oil pollution.
4. Proper management of oil pipeline and replacement of damage oil pipelines.
5. Provision of oil facility surveillance by the government, local communities and oil production companies to guard against the activities of criminals and saboteurs.

Management of oil spillage in Nigeria

A number of laws already exist in the Nigerian oil industry. Most of these laws provide the framework for oil exploration and exploitation. However, only some of these laws provide guidelines on the issues of pollution. According to Salu (2009) the following relevant national laws and international agreements are in effect namely:

1. Endangered Species Decree Cap 108 LFN 1990.
2. Federal Environmental protection Agency Act Cap 131 LFN 1990.
3. Harmful Waste Cap 165 LFN 1990.
4. Petroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulations, 1969.
5. Mineral Oil (Safety) Regulations, 1963.
6. International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971
7. Convention on the Prevention of Marine pollution Damage, 1972
8. African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1968
9. International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for the Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971.

References to Caps, volumes and pages are as in the laws of the Federation of Nigeria. Some of the acts and regulations on pollution according to Oshineye (2010) include:

1. The Mineral Oil (Safety) Regulations 1963, that deals with safe discharge of noxious or inflammable gases and provide penalties for contravention and noncompliance.
2. Petroleum Regulations 1967 that prohibit discharge or escape of petroleum into waters within harbour area and make provisions for precautions in the conveyance of petroleum and rules for safe operation of pipelines.
3. Petroleum Drilling and Production Regulation 1969 that requires licence holders to take all practical precautions, including the provision of up-to-date equipment approved by the appropriate authority to prevent pollution of inland waters, river water courses, the territorial waters of Nigeria or the high seas by oil or other fluids or substances.
4. Oil in Navigable Waters Act 1968 that prohibits discharge of oil or any mixture containing oil into the territorial or navigable inland waters.
5. Oil Terminal Dues Act 1969 that prohibits oil discharge to area of the continental shelf within which any oil terminal is situated.
6. Petroleum Refining Regulations 1974, which deals, among other things, with construction requirements for oil storage tanks to minimize damage from leakage.
7. Associated Gas Re-Injection Act 1979 that provides for the utilization of gas produced in association with oil and for the re-injection of such associated gas not utilized in an industrial project. This is to discourage gas flaring. The Government has raised the penalty for gas flaring and this increase was due to the government’s determination to protect the environment and ensure the optimal and functional use of Nigeria’s gas resources.
8. Oil Pipeline Act 1956 (as amended by Oil pipelines Act 1965) which prevents the pollution of land or any waters.
9. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), which was recently made part of the Ministry of the Environment, is legally vested with the responsibility of protecting and sustaining the Nigerian environment through formulation and implementation of regulatory frameworks.

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