Author(s) :

Christopher Basharu Obida, Elisha Emmanuel Maisamari.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

The Niger Delta is one of the richest oil producing regions of the world, accounting for a vast oil and gas reserve. It accounts for over 80% of Nigeria’s foreign earnings. However, the region is replete with pervasive oil spills occurrence, with grave economic, social and environmental consequences. Many studies have explored the dynamics of oil extraction and spills in the region. What has not been done is an analysis of the putative causes of oil spills over a long period. In this study, statistical and mapping techniques were applied to an extensive database of oil spills from 2010 – 2024. The study objectives include: (i) To identify and categorize the main causes of oil spills in the Niger Delta, (ii) To assess the temporal trends of oil spills causes, (iii) To identify the relationship in the trends of oil spills causes, (iv) To determine the spatial patterns and (v) To identify oil spills hotspots in the region over the study period. Over the study period, sabotage, operational and “other” categories were identified as major causes of oil spills, each accounting for 79%, 16% and 5% of total oil spills occurrence respectively. A significant temporal variation exist in the scale and frequency of the causes of oil spills, with 2013 and 2020 accounting for the highest and lowest prevalence rates respectively. There is a weak correlation between the occurrence of sabotage as the leading cause of oil spills and operational and other causes (0.2 and 0.4), while there is a strong correlation of 0.8 between the operational and other causes. The study also showed there is no statistical trend in the occurrence of sabotage with an R2 value of 0.01, while there is a decreasing trend in the occurrence of operational and others causes of oil spills. Communities in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states represents the worst affected in terms of spills hotspots in the Niger Delta. These findings provides a framework for the holistic characterization of the causes of oil spills in the Niger Delta. Therefore, the study could facilitate targeted anti-sabotage measures and improvements in operational safety and maintenance culture. It could further form the basis for future stricter regulatory and policy framework for the region, setting grounds for future in depth study of political and socio-economic drivers of oil spills occurrences. Keywords: Oil spills, Sabotage, Operational causes, Hotspots, Trends

No. of Downloads :

0