ON OIL SPILLS & NIGERIA

Oil’s Shame in Africa; In Nigeria, spills are weekly events.
Julia Baird, July 18, 2010 (Newsweek)

"…What’s even more troubling [than the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico] is that in Nigeria, the country that has arguably suffered most from oil drilling, oil “accidents”—large and small—occur almost weekly, and we hear little about it. A lethal combination of sloppiness, corruption, weak regulation, and lack of accountability has meant that each year since the 1960s, there has been a spill the size of the Exxon Valdez’s into the Niger Delta. Large purple slicks cover once fertile fields, and rivers are clogged with [“the balck tide”] leaked decades ago…

"Americans consume a quarter of the world’s oil—and 10 percent of the oil we consume comes from Nigeria. Why are we not worried and angry about this? Or at least demanding global accountability…[B]etween 9 million and 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta since drilling began in 1958. Cleanups have been halfhearted, and compensation has been paltry. The Nigerian government estimates that 7,000 “spills,” large and small, occurred between 1970 and 2000. Locals complain of sore eyes, breathing problems, and lesions on their skin…[A]bout 2,000 oil-polluted sites still need cleaning up."

No cleanup in sight (click to enlarge)

"There are many reasons this has occurred: sabotage, faulty equipment, corroded infrastructure. The regulations are weak, rarely enforced, and there are few punitive measures to ensure that spills are managed, monitored, and cleaned up. The oil companies are, effectively, asked to self-regulate…

"…The new Nigerian president, aptly named Goodluck Jonathan, has promised to hold them accountable, but the regulatory agencies are toothless…[C]orrupt dictators…acted in concert with oil companies and siphoned off much of the oil wealth…The money that has come from oil drilling in Nigeria—$600 billion so far—has gone to very few; most Nigerians live in extreme poverty."

Just another day in the Niger Delta (click to enlarge

"…[President] Obama asked that $20 billion be set aside to cover cleanup costs in the gulf. Will it be enough? How much would companies like Shell and ExxonMobil have to pay if Africa were well regulated and proper compensation demanded for the loss of livelihoods, illness, and damage to the environment?

"…America should lead a push to ensure global scrutiny and monitoring of oil drilling…It’s messy and will never be entirely safe, but why should we accept different standards for countries with less money and clout? Global companies should develop adequate global response and compensation mechanisms…[W]orldwide coordination [could] ensure that oil companies cannot drill unless they have the proven technology and capacity to respond to leaks, saboteurs, and explosions…[I]t would lead to… innovation in clean-up technology… something every country would benefit from…"