The oil spill caused by oil tanker hebey spirit at taean coast in 2007 has been recorded as a big international oil spill accident. An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The federal government reported that there were more than 7,000 spills in the time range between 1970 and 2000. Irrespective of cause, the spdc jv cleans up and remediates areas affected by spills originating from its facilities. Spectacular oil spills from wrecked or damaged supertankers are.
Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the nigerian fig. We waded into the warm tropical water and began swimming, cameras and notebooks held above our heads. Effects of oil spills on fish production in the niger delta plos. Due to both habitat characteristics and omnivorous. For example, after the exxon valdez oil spill in prince william sound on the southern coast of alaska in 1989, 395 loon carcasses all loon species combined were retrieved field et al. Impacts and management of oil spill pollution along the. Bibliographies created by noaa, such as the oil spills bibliography pdf, 2.
Proceedings of the international oil spill conference iosc. The first medium sized spill was recorded in the gulf of guinea in february and occurred during a shiptoship transfer. Slippery justice for victims of oil spills africa renewal. Oil spills due to crude oil theft and sabotage of facilities, as well as illegal refining cause the most environmental damage from oil and gas operations in the niger delta. Nigeria is now the largest oil producer in africa and the sixth largest in the. The largest oil spills in history mnn mother nature. Oil spill influence on vegetation in nigeria and its determinants. Oil and chemical spill research publications response.
Background and governance congressional research service summary oil is a primary source of energy in the united states. Emerging spill risks include increased maritime activity in the arctic. The second resulted from an allision and occurred in june in europe. Despite attempts to use dispersing agents and oil skimming ships. By pairing georeferenced data from the nigerian oil spill monitor which recorded the location of more than 6,600 spills between 2005 and 2015. Oil spill contingency plans, therefore, specify appropriate response to. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. For more information, the following are good places to start.
Nigerian officials reported that gallons of crude oil spilled on rivers and farmland. Quantities are measured in tonnes of crude oil with one tonne roughly equal to 308 us gallons, 256 imperial gallons, 7. In terms of sheer volume, the exxon valdez spill ranks as the 36th worst oil spill in history. This region spans through 20,000 square kilometres and has been described as the largest wetland in africa and among the. Although significant steps have been taken over the last 15 years to reduce the size and frequency of oil spills, the sheer volume of petroleum consumed in this country and the complex production and distribution network required to meet the demand make spills of oil and other petroleum products inevitable nrc, 2003. Some major spills in the coastal zone are the gocons escravos spill in 1978 of about 300,000 barrels, spdcs forcados terminal tank failure in 1978 of about 580,000 barrels. Potential environmental impacts of oil spills in greenland. Oil spills occur naturally by natural disaster, movement of tectonic plates and also as a result of inadequate trap system. Brief history of penguin oiling in south african waters. An indirect assessment of the effects of oil pollution on the diversity. Pdf oil spill incidents and pipeline vandalization in. The awardwinning documentary, drilling and killing by amy goodman, jeremy scahill and dred scott keyes assassins in foreign lands.
However, oil exploration despite its contribution to government revenue has some consequential health implication to host communities. This information is then put into a joint investigation visit jiv report. Although there have been numerous oil spills in history, these two spills were chosen because they were the largest in volume and time. Pdf oil spill problems and management in the niger delta. According to the department of petroleum resources dpr, between 1976 and 1996 a total of 4647 incidents resulted in the spill of approximately 2,369,470 barrels of oil into the environment. Oil spills have killed small proportions of pacific loon populations on their wintering areas. Despite this, spill experts estimate that 30%50% of oil spills are either directly or indirectly caused by human error, with 20%40% of all spills caused by equipment failure or malfunction. Inadequate monitoring and enforcement in the nigerian oil. Both petroleum and nonpetroleum oil can affect the environment surrounding an oil spill. There are many documented cases of oil spillage in the niger delta region, southern. This despite that some 400,000 tons of oil have spilled in the region over the last 30 years as a result of corroded and poorly maintained pipelines, destroying the environment and ecosystem, according to friends of the earth. Since then, nigeria has become africa s largest oil producer, with an estimated 37. How to clean up oil spills on soil global spill control.
According to nigerian government regulations, the oil companies, accompanied by government and community representatives, are supposed to visit each oil spill in order to assess key information. Oil spills can cause a wide range of impacts in the marine environment and are often portrayed by the media as. The most intensive resighting programme ever mounted after an oil spill started within days of these birds being released. Previous reports indicate that about 50% of oil spills in the niger delta result from pipeline corrosion and tanker accidents. Kenneth kertell, in the natural history of an arctic oil field, 2000. The oil spill off the gulf of mexico was also a big accident. West coast zone may 2012 iv local authorities have an important role to play in dealing with oil spills. We reached the edge of the oil spill near the nigerian village of otuegwe after a long hike through cassava plantations. Shell begins cleanup after 10year delay the cleanup of a contaminated fishing community in nigeria has finally started almost 10 years after two oil spills in niger river delta. This is a reversechronological list of oil spills that have occurred throughout the world and spill s that are currently ongoing. Environmental devastation, ruined economy and deteriorating health afflict bodo community years after shell oil spill. Nigeria began producing oil in 1958, after the discovery of crude oil by shell british petroleum now royal dutch shell. An example of the catastrophic impact of oil spill is the exxon valdez oil spill which occurred in prince william sound, alaska, on march 24, 1989 with an estimated crude oil spill of 260,000 to 750,000 barrels and more recently the bp deepwater horizon oil spill on 20 april 2010 in the gulf of mexico caused by the explosion and sinking of the.
In some cases, nonpetroleum oil spills can produce more harmful effects than petroleum oil spills. The 2000 treasure oil spill and south africas seabirds. Oil spill, leakage of petroleum onto the surface of a large body of water. Oil spillage and heavy metals toxicity risk in the niger.
Some major spills in the coastal zone are the gocons escravos spill in 1978 of about 300,000 barrels, spdcs forcados. All types of oil share chemical and physical properties that produce similar effects on the environment. Gis, nigeria, oil spill, remote sensing, vegetation. Fight continues for nigeria oil spill victims, al jazeera, june 8, 2010. Pdf legal consequences of major oil spills dominic e. An inclusive approach was adopted for the formation of the msps to ensure all relevant actors and institutions are brought to the table. The first major oil spillage occurred in 1970 in the southeast of nigeria. Nigeria is one of the largest, and the most populous country in africa. Google scholar, a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. Pdf while oil is a necessary risk in a complex society, recent and avoidable major oil. The worst spill by far was the apollo sea oil spill in which an estimated 10 000 penguins were oiled. As a developing market, the nigerian economy is heavily dependent on its oil. Page 4 of 6 when printed this document is uncontrolled do not hose down the area and allow any fluid to enter drainage systems.
Shell and eni, two of the biggest corporations working in the niger delta, say that most oil spills are caused by sabotage and theft, and they are doing all they can to prevent spills. It therefore becomes highly imperative that more care should be taken in oil spill exploration and exploitation activities. In june, an explosion at one of nigerias major pipelines spilled 6,000 barrels of crude into the creeks and swamps around bodo village, killing several people. As at 2016, daily production of crude oil stood at 1,999,855 barrels per day making nigeria the largest oil producer in africa, the seventh largest under opec. An oil spill is a release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activities and is a form of pollution.
Initial impact of the treasure oil spill on seabirds off western south. Msps on oil spills mandated to enhance coordination of regulatory agencies, oil companies and communities on prevention and responses to oil spills in bayelsa, delta and rivers states. Pdf impact of oil spill on living aquatic resources of the niger. Big oil spills are common in the niger delta where over 40 million liters of crude oil is spilled annually, resulting in human deaths and damage to the local ecosystem. Environmental impacts, exploration, production, refining, oil, natural gas. In the event of a major spill on soil, a different technique maybe more appropriate. Oiled penguins collected at a robben and b dassen islands continued to move the oil. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling. Estimated spill volume bbl cleanup status comments photo jiv report. Delta, africas most important oilproducing region, one of the most. Longterm effects of oil spills in bodo, nigeria al. This study reveals that in case of any major oil spill from any of the six fpsos, the probability that the oil spill will get to the shore is very high. For decades oil spills have been damaging the environment and devastating lives in this part of nigeria.
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