Page:Niger Delta Ecosystems- the ERA Handbook, 1998.djvu/166

Environmental Impact of the Oil Industry resources; also, over the past 5000 years they have attracted and influenced the development of a human society and an associated culture which is now represented by about 7 million people.

5.2.2 THE PERVASIVENESS OF THE OIL INDUSTRY

As the section about geology has explained in the last chapter there is a likelihood of oil and gas lying beneath a large part of the Niger Delta, both onshore and offshore. The area produces 3.2% of the world's oil requirements. Evidence of the industry is everywhere, map 5 showing how pervasive is the industry today. Moreover, the map shows only the pipe-lines which carry bulk crude oil from the flow stations to the oil terminals, it does not show the thousands of kilometres of flow-lines which run in batches across the lowland farms carrying the crude from the well-heads to the flow-stations. An abiding picture for anyone who has worked in the area is of women, carrying farm produce on their heads, trying to negotiate these flow lines.

Also, it should be remembered that the industry is growing all the time: exploration goes on, new fields are opened, and old fields are abandoned, the mess left behind for Local People to deal with.

15.2.3 THE OIL INDUSTRY IS INHERENTLY DAMAGING TO THE ENVIRONMENT

The potential for adverse environmental impact is inherent in the oil and gas industry processes as described in the last chapter. In exploration, in mining and in processing there is an adverse environmental impact even where the best precautions are taken. And, very often they are not.

15.2.4 THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN NIGERIA

Since the formation of the country by Lugard in 1914, Nigeria has had governments that have been careless of the environmental impacts of mining. Tin mining in the Jos Plateau and coal mining in the area around Enugu are good examples of where mining has always ignored the well-being of employees and local people alike. This tradition was imported from Britain where conditions at the time were no better.

The situation is worse today where a succession of corrupt governments have run the country for no other reason than to enrich themselves. Add to this the arrogant culture of mining companies described in section 2 of the last chapter, and it is not surprising that environmental considerations and human rights do not figure at all. This corrupt political environment enables the law to be prostituted to a corrupt oil mining industry, as explained below.

LEGISLATION ON GAS FLARING

An example of how good law has been prostituted by corrupt government to a bad mining industry.

Regulation 42 of the Drilling and Production Regulations, legally enforceable since 1969, requires oil-mining companies to set up facilities to utilise the gas extracts arising from oil extraction within five years of the commencement of operation. This was ignored for ten years so that it was enforced by the Associated Gas Re-Injection Act of 1979 164