By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa
Posted to the Web: Saturday, June 04, 2005

Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State, a leading voice in the campaign for environmental justice lamenting the shift of the goal post said: “Like the withering plants in autumn, the swamps and mangrove forests in the Niger Delta have lost their essence. They are dying before their time. The people have continued to complain bitterly about mass poverty, hunger and disease, environmental degradation and loss of their traditional means of livelihood and no one seems to be listening to the environmental onslaught being unleashed on the region.”

According to him, every known law on environmental safety has been violated in Nigeria and this can be seen in the volume of natural gas glared in the country. “The average rate of gas flaring in the world is about 4 percent. In Nigeria, over 70 per cent of associated gas is flared and Nigeria has the notorious record of 25 percent of all gas flared in the world. There are intense debates about compliance with the United Nations Agencies 21 and the Kyoto Protocol in other parts of the world.
“Nigeria is a signatory to these and other international conventions. Yet, the government does not enforce them because the main victims of this ecological massacre are the people of the Niger Delta. As far as the power brokers in Nigeria are concerned, the people of the Niger Delta are good game, they do not deserve the protection of their national government. The deadline for an end to gas flaring was first fixed for 1985.

“A policy of gas re-injection was put in place. Pressure from the oil companies forced the government to abandon the policy and Shell canvassed 2008 as another deadline. Ironically, Shell has just announced that the 2008 deadline cannot be realised and have moved the goal post to 2009.”

Implications to the environment and revenue loss

“What is more, none of the 150 flare sites has been discontinued. In the oil-producing states of Nigeria, an average of one oil spill occurs every week. In the delicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta, these oil related accidents cause grave damages to the environment and all that it harbours. Protected by the might of the federal government, the oil companies accuse the impoverished victims of being the cause of their tragedy.

“Over 1,000 youths, women and children perished in the Jesse inferno at the turn of the century. The figures of the dead in the Odi invasion have been estimated to be about 2,000. In all the cases of major calamities associated with oil, the Nigerian government has not taken the pains to calculate the casualty figures nor has it bothered to rebuild the devastated communities.

“One of the most disturbing ironies in the Niger Delta today is that crude oil for export is transported to Bonny and Forcados through a network of pipelines covering about 6,000km laid across farms, waterways and fishing grounds with the result that some cross communities and living quarters are involved while no care is given to the technical integrity of the pipelines leading to corrosion and burst and causing a deluge of oil spills and fires that consume plant and human life.”
In spite of the inherent threat associated with global warning it is ironic that Nigeria is yet to feel the outcome of resolutions at the United Nations Earth summit which took place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil about fifteen years ago. After 45 years as an independent nation, the central government seems not to have fully understood the implications of being unjust to any part of the country, especially by depriving the citizenry of their God-given wealth.

“Over the years, our leaders have used state machinery to make laws aimed at dispossessing the people of the Niger Delta of their God-given resources and it is time to revoke these laws and release the Niger Delta from bondage.

“Since 1958 when export of crude oil began in commercial quantities, Nigeria has realised well over 20 trillion dollars as proceeds, yet, in spite of this staggering figure, the Niger Delta remains wretched. Oloibiri, where oil was first discovered in Nigeria is now a ghost town in the very best sense of that description, a carcass rejected even by the hounds who laid her bare in the first place.”

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We sympathise with oil communities — Shell

SHELL Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) has been at the receiving end since its pronouncement, last weekend, that gas flaring in the oil-producing Niger-Delta region would end in 2009, and not the projected 2008.

But in the face of the acrimonies and bitter reactions which its position has provoked, the oil firm insists that it is not insensitive to the plight of the people. Rather, it says that circumstances beyond its control has made it impossible for the flaring to end before the 2009 terminal date.

Thus, the multi-national firm expresses its sympathy with the host communities and pledges its commitment towards alleviating whatever frustrations or deprivations occasioned by the gas flaring.

Besides, Shell preaches that contrary to public impression that it is insensitive to the negative effects of its oil activities in the area, the corporation sympathises with the people of the oil-producing communities.

It equally claims that over the years, Shell has taken a number of measures to ameliorate the health and environmental implications of its oil exploration and gas emissions in the Niger-Delta.
In its 2004 People and Environment report, the Anglo-Dutch oil firm had explained that its decision to shift the earlier target date of 2008 to eliminate carbon emission by the Federal Government to 2009 was purely informed by the new realities arising from the fact that the joint venture programme relied upon to be fully funded to deliver the required Associated Gas Gathering Projects was not achieved.

According to the report, the budget Shell received between 1996 and 2004 was “some $4 billion less than what was agreed by the partners as necessary to support the joint-venture programme, including funding of the AGG Project.
“As a result, adjustments had to be made to the programme to reflect the available funding levels, which had a consequent effect on our AGG projects such as those planned for River Nun and Land West fields,” said the oil firm.

Therefore, installation of gas gathering facilities is currently on-going at 25 of the corporations’ Ozone layer. According to Shell, “it is estimated that an additional investment of $1.85 billion will be required to complete these projects. However, the construction of these facilities will only be completed by end of 2009, which means that gas flaring from the relevant flow stations will not be eliminated until end of 2009.”
However, a top official of Shell who spoke to Saturday Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, noted that the company has so much sympathy for the people affected by the flaring. The official also explained that the handicap of the corporation was as earlier articulated in its 2004 Profile and Environment report, and assured that the adjustment in the date from 2008 to 2009 was not economic driven but owing to the “stark realities on the ground.

He stated the Shell is doing everything within its power to ensure that the 2009 date is strictly adhered to. “We have a lot of sympathy for the people and communities affected by gas flaring,” said the official. “It will be most uncharitable to say that we do not care about the effects of gas flaring.
“The truth is that we’ve always shown great respect and sympathy for our hosts. Without doubt, we’re committed towards accomplishing the 2009 deadline.”

The official also said that though gas could only be managed in two ways which are either by flaring or harnessing it for economic purposes, Shell, he said, has been working hard in recent years to properly channel the gas for industrial uses in most industrial areas of the country.
“You could see that even now, we have begun channelling the gas to industrial set-ups across the country to do this is capital intensive. We are supplying gas to Ikeja Industrial estate in Lagos and to Port Harcourt and other areas.

“Though, it is an expansive project but we hope that in the shortest possible time, we will have the full need of the gas for use in industries, home and even for airports,” the official stated.