The Impact of Oil and Gas Development on the Landscape and Surface in Nigeria

This writing will focus on the impact on the impact of oil and gas development on the landscape, surface water and groundwater of the Niger Delta – while also assessing the various means of remediation in use. Geologically, the Niger Delta petroleum systems consist of Lower Cretaceous , Upper Cretaceous–lower Paleocene and Tertiary. When Nigeria became an independent nation on 1 October 1960, Shell–BP began to relinquish its acreage and its exploration licenses were converted into prospecting licenses that allowed development and production. The Federal Government of Nigeria started its Department of Petroleum Resources Inspectorate in 1970 and Nigeria joined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1971. – and in order to take control of the country’s petroleum industry, Nigeria nationalized BP’s holding completely in 1979, and Shell–BP became Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. Oil spillages routinely occur in the Niger Delta. The official figures of SPDC show that between 1976 and 2001, 6,187 incidents in which 3 million barrels were spilled. The Niger Delta Environmental Survey An impact assessment of the 1983 Oshika oil spill. Spills of crude oil in Niger Delta farmlands have been reported since 1971. In general, toxicity depends on nature and type of crude oil , level of oil contamination, type of environment and degree of selective of individual organisms. Controlled burning effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly but it must be done in low wind and can cause air pollution. A principal target for emissions reduction is flaring and venting which causes most of the air pollution. Saltwater tanks can be often susceptible to lightning strikes due to build up in static electricity, with the spilled oil spreading to surrounding lands, waterways. This requires a secondary containment of the tanks that makes it easier to clean up the inevitable spill. In cases of expected major storms or flooding events, crude oil can be removed from tank batteries while refilling the tanks with saltwater to prevent them tipping over during the flooding event.