An Assessment of Oil and Gas Industries in the Niger Delta

Thesis Statement

Oil and Gas companies operating in Niger Delta are causing damage to the health and safety of environment and the communities of Niger Delta.

Introduction

Companies participating in Oil and Gas Industry, either upstream, midstream, or downstream, know the pressure from governments and environmental organizations that have been at the center stage environmental issues, while traditional security issues and reliability are even more critical as the industry is driven by strong demand. All the oil companies, especially after the oil spill fiascos that took place in the last 2 decades in Niger Delta, have committed their resources to ensure health and safety of its employees, the people inhabiting the region where company's operations are taking place, and the protection of environment and other resources such as water. The assessment of all Oil and Gas companies reveals that all the oil and gas companies in Niger Delta are committed to the values, morals, standard and principles that are discussed below in the literature review section (Yusufu et al., 2011, Pp. 34).

Discussion

Health and Safety: Not to harm people, whether they are employees or contractors of third parties.

Accompanying water: Treatment and re-injection of water associated with oil production methods and techniques that are in line with the standards of environmental protection.

Drilling Fluids: Management and disposal of waste drilling fluids in accordance with international standards that cause minimal environmental damage/pollution.

Solid Waste Management: Control and reduce solid waste separation, treatment and disposal in accordance with international standards.

Oil spills and chemicals: Reduction of oil spills and chemicals. In the event of oil or chemical spill, cleaning the affected water and land area in an efficient and timely manner to minimize the damage to the environment and community.

These standards, principles and policies are well embedded in the management philosophy of every oil and gas companies operating in Niger Delta, but only in theory as it appears from their action in managing the catastrophic events they caused directly in Niger Delta. Oil pollution in Niger Delta is very visible. Numerous disastrous events which caused heavy oil pollution in the area have been taken place, especially in the last 3 decades which led local communities to disapprove of oil and gas companies such as Shell and Total. In December and August 2008, two big oil spill events disrupted the daily lives of more than 70,000 people of Bodo community in the ...