The oil curse of the Niger Delta

If you’re heart goes out to the people of the American Gulf Coast during this current oil crisis, spare a thought for the people of the Niger Delta.

This oil-rich region along the coast of Nigeria has experienced oil spills the size of America’s Exxon Valdez every year for the last 40 years.

The Niger Delta is where the great Niger River breaks up before it meets the ocean on the southern coast of Nigeria.

The region spans 70,000 sq km (about the size of Ireland) and is home to 31 million people, most of whom live in dire poverty.

It’s also home to half of the country’s 36 billion barrels of Light Nigerian crude, considered to be among the world’s highest quality oil.

Oil was discovered there in the late 1950s and accounts for over 90% of Nigeria’s export earnings and 80% of the government’s total revenue, thanks to its majority ownership of all joint ventures.

The main oil companies operating there are Royal Dutch Shell (British/Dutch) with over 50% of total production, two American companies (Chevron and ExxonMobil) and one each from Italy and France.

Injustice and violence in the Delta

Over the years, the oil companies and the Nigerian government have done little to ensure the oil wealth and pollution is managed properly.

Instead, the oil companies have ensured Nigeria’s elite have become rich and stayed in power, while the elite have ensured the oil companies received favourable contracts and soft environmental laws.

Thanks to this corrupt and incompetent leadership, the people of the Niger Delta have become increasingly unhappy about their situation.

Oil revenue was being unfairly split across the various governments, and pollution was ruining people’s livelihoods and environments.

During the 1990s, armed groups began to form out of frustration for their lack of justice and because the peaceful route was getting them nowhere.

The most powerful of such groups is MEND (the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta).

They have been responsible for killing and kidnapping hundreds of oil workers and executives, as well as attacking and blowing up oil platforms and pipelines.

Nigeria’s organised crime bosses have also capitalised on the resentment, using worker expertise and local gangs to steal oil from the pipelines and sell it on world markets.

This has deprived Nigeria’s government and oil companies billions in revenue each year.

The oil spills

Until last month, the famous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was America’s worst oil disaster, with 40 million litres spilt.

A 2006 WWF UK report found that the volume of oil spilt in the Niger Delta was the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez every year since 1969.

Shell alone spilt over 16 million litres last year, while ExxonMobil spilt 4 million litres just last month.

As a consequence, the ability to earn money through fishing and farming in many areas has been destroyed. Jobs have been lost and incomes have been slashed, yet very little compensation is paid.

On top of that, drinking water has been poisoned, causing thousands to get sick. And the region’s eco-system has become so tarnished that it has been declared the most polluted on earth.

There is hardly a clearer case of double-standards. While BP rushes around to apologise, fix and compensate in America, the media, oil companies and Nigeria’s politicians pay little attention to the problems of the Delta.

The spills aren’t always the fault of the oil companies it must be said. About 30% is attributed to sabotage by militants and attempted theft by the illegal oil trade.

But the main cause is still the companies’ careless operating and ageing oil infrastructure.

Nigeria has hundreds of oil pipelines that weave their way around the country, and it’s the spills from these and other oil installations that do the most damage.

Adding to the oil woes, the companies also burn the natural gas from the oil wells into the atmosphere, known as flare ups, rather than capture it for commercial use.

It amounts to 70 million cubic metres per day – 40% of Africa’s total consumption – and forms one of the largest single sources of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.

But it appears the spotlight on the American crisis has prompted the companies in the Niger Delta to act.

Shell has admitted its poor track record and committed US$8 billion by 2012 and $1 billion a year after that for 10 years to fix the problem. It’s also promised to stop burning the natural gas and offer it to local citizens for free.

It seems America’s disaster might be the Niger Delta’s saviour. But 40 years of damage is a lot to fix.

Perhaps BP should step aside and let Shell take some of the heat. After all, they’ve been doing it for years.

By The Casual Truth