Nigeria Oil

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dominated the environmental agenda for months, yet in the Niger Delta the world's other major oil spill story has been raging for decades without any where near the same level of coverage. The Niger Delta, forming 7.5% of Nigeria's land mass, is about 70,000 square km, and is home to around thirty one million people. Originally the home of a major producer of palm oil, petroleum oil was discovered there making Nigeria Africa's biggest oil producer.

Drilling for oil in a dangerous, messy occupation even in the regulated west, as events in the Gulf of Mexico have amply demonstrated, however in the relatively unregulated environment of the Niger Delta, its impact has been catastrophic with over 600 oil fields in the region alone. The Nigerian head of 'Friends of the Earth International' recently commented that "In Nigeria, oil  companies largely ignore their spills, cover them up and destroy people's livelihoods and environments." The situation is so desperately bad that the equivalent of the BP Oil spill occurs in the Niger Delta every year and has occurred for decades. The Nigerian government estimates that there were 7000 spills between 1970 and 2000.

Whilst major oil companies such as Shell are held by the locals as responsible for the leaks and damage, there is widespread acceptance that many of the spills are caused by vandalism and criminal activity. Despite this it is acknowledged that around half the spills are caused by corroded pipe work and decaying tankers. The spills are affecting the entire River Niger ecosystem, and ravaging farm lands and forests a a skin of petrol permeates into the very fabric of the region. As a local leader commented "The land is devastated. The drinking water and streams are polluted. As it rains, we use the rain water but cannot drink it, because even that is full of crude oil."