3.2.1 Oil Spills
Oil spills are prone to the oil industry operations and can happen at any time. They
can occur as a result of machine blow-outs, rigs and pipeline leaks, tanker spills,
61
sabotage,
62 theft of oil, human error, corrosion, engineering error and poor maintenance of infrastructure,
63 natural disasters, causes of third parties and erosion.
The Centre for Energy at the University of Dundee reports that oil tankers and
pipelines are annually responsible for the transporting of some 1800 million tons of
crude oil around the world and in majority of cases the transport is done in a
relatively safe manner.
64
Around August and December 2008, two major oil spills disrupted the lives of the
69,000 or so people living in Bodo, a town in Ogoni land in the Niger Delta.
65 Both
spills continued for weeks before they were stopped. Estimates suggest that the
volume of oil spilled was as large as the Exxon Valdez Accident in Alaska’s Prince
William Sound. While the big disasters get a lot of attention such as the small scale
pollution occurs all the time all over the country, without being noticed.
Amnesty international reports that oil spills in the Niger Delta have caused
massive pollution of land of thus destroying crops and damaging the long term
productivity of the land.
66
Oil spills introduce heavy metals such as Cu, Ni and Hg into the land, these
metals impair and disrupt the biota of land due to their toxicity.
67 Physical-chemical
properties of the land is affected, such as temperature, structure, nutrient status and
pH.
68
Several pollution instances have resulted to litigation to seek remedies for
example In Common Wealth of Massachusetts V Andrus
69 the first circuit court of
appeals considered a preliminary injunction, issued by the district court, which
enjoined the Secretary of interior from proceeding with the proposed sale of oil
leaseholds in the OCS off the coast of New England. An injunction had been issued
on the basis that safeguards against oil spills were lacking.
Besides destruction of land, oil spills may endanger shorelines, aquatic life,
wildlife, and the stability of the entire ecosystem.
70
61 Laitos and Toumain (1992), p. 448.
62 A number of spills are attributable to sabotage which is defined as a willful attempt to disrupt or
interrupt the production or distribution of oil by third parties.
63 Oil experts assert that many pipelines and installations in the Niger Delta have not been
adequately maintained, and this is a contributory factor in corrosion and leaks.
64 CEPMLP (2008), p. 44.
65 Eyinla and Ukpo (2006).
66 Amnesty International (2009), p. 17.
67 Ekundayo and Obuekwe (2000).
68 Ekundayo and Obuekwe (2000).
69 United States Court of Appeal for the First Circuit- 594 F.2d 872 (1979), 283, 448.
70 Bradbrook et al. (2003), p. 448.
88
W. Kassim
Oil spills are prone to the oil industry operations and can happen at any time. They
can occur as a result of machine blow-outs, rigs and pipeline leaks, tanker spills,
61
sabotage,
62 theft of oil, human error, corrosion, engineering error and poor maintenance of infrastructure,
63 natural disasters, causes of third parties and erosion.
The Centre for Energy at the University of Dundee reports that oil tankers and
pipelines are annually responsible for the transporting of some 1800 million tons of
crude oil around the world and in majority of cases the transport is done in a
relatively safe manner.
64
Around August and December 2008, two major oil spills disrupted the lives of the
69,000 or so people living in Bodo, a town in Ogoni land in the Niger Delta.
65 Both
spills continued for weeks before they were stopped. Estimates suggest that the
volume of oil spilled was as large as the Exxon Valdez Accident in Alaska’s Prince
William Sound. While the big disasters get a lot of attention such as the small scale
pollution occurs all the time all over the country, without being noticed.
Amnesty international reports that oil spills in the Niger Delta have caused
massive pollution of land of thus destroying crops and damaging the long term
productivity of the land.
66
Oil spills introduce heavy metals such as Cu, Ni and Hg into the land, these
metals impair and disrupt the biota of land due to their toxicity.
67 Physical-chemical
properties of the land is affected, such as temperature, structure, nutrient status and
pH.
68
Several pollution instances have resulted to litigation to seek remedies for
example In Common Wealth of Massachusetts V Andrus
69 the first circuit court of
appeals considered a preliminary injunction, issued by the district court, which
enjoined the Secretary of interior from proceeding with the proposed sale of oil
leaseholds in the OCS off the coast of New England. An injunction had been issued
on the basis that safeguards against oil spills were lacking.
Besides destruction of land, oil spills may endanger shorelines, aquatic life,
wildlife, and the stability of the entire ecosystem.
70
61 Laitos and Toumain (1992), p. 448.
62 A number of spills are attributable to sabotage which is defined as a willful attempt to disrupt or
interrupt the production or distribution of oil by third parties.
63 Oil experts assert that many pipelines and installations in the Niger Delta have not been
adequately maintained, and this is a contributory factor in corrosion and leaks.
64 CEPMLP (2008), p. 44.
65 Eyinla and Ukpo (2006).
66 Amnesty International (2009), p. 17.
67 Ekundayo and Obuekwe (2000).
68 Ekundayo and Obuekwe (2000).
69 United States Court of Appeal for the First Circuit- 594 F.2d 872 (1979), 283, 448.
70 Bradbrook et al. (2003), p. 448.
88
W. Kassim