I wanted to share and discuss an article that was shared in class, which actually began our talking on the subject of the Niger Delta. The title of the article: Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it written by John Vidal of The Observer. Now this article was interesting in many regards. First it began to put into perspective how dire the situation in the Niger Delta region really is, especially when put into perspective with the recent Deepwater Horizon incident or with the Exxon Valdez tanker spill. We had some good discussion on that topic, but what struck me was the fact that most of the class consisting of all Nigerians were actually more informed about the Deepwater Horizon spill than what was going on in their own backyards. The article states that, "the US and Europe ignore it," but it should add that most of Nigeria ignores it as well. This was perhaps the spark that lead us to start this blog, because the US and Europe will do little until Nigeria recognizes the problem...all of Nigeria.
Now the article cites examples of blatant disregard for the environment and for the people living near petroleum operations, but as is often the case it could be regarded as quite one-sided. If you click the link and read the article you can scroll down and read some of the comments people have posted, many of them critical of the article, which to me makes this much more interesting.
One of the common points that comes up, and is also mentioned by Shell in its media center, is the fact that the Nigerian government receives a large portion of the petroleum revenues and also operates facilities under the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. I agree with many that this is an important fact, and of course should be disclosed as it is informative. I further agree with the critics of this article that NNPC is just as culpable as the private petroleum companies. However, I don't believe this changes the overall impact of the story, and I don't think it absolves companies such as Shell from their part in the environmental degradation of the delta region. Of course NNPC should be mentioned along with Shell, Agip, etc..., but let us not lose site of the big picture, oil is destroying environments and livelihoods...those signed onto the Joint Operating Agreement are all responsible.
Another point that commonly comes up is the fact that there is vandalism of pipelines and that violent acts prevent maintenance and repair of infrastructure as well as clean-up of oil spills. Now I recognize that these are facts and this does occur, but let us be honest. I won't go into accounts of reported oil spills being ignored for unacceptable amounts of time, the aging infrastructure, and inadequate spill responses. Nor will I go into the accounts of illegal taps, vandalism, and communities not cooperating. The back and forth of these issues seem to pass blame but lose site of overall picture. I'll frame this picture with a question, "How is any of this allowed to happen?" I am sure the answer is complex, but some concepts may be simple. How can so many illegal taps be put in place? You would suspect that after so many thefts, actions would be taken to prevent them, both on the producer side and by government. I would also like to know (and of course I will do some more investigating) how the age of the Nigerian infrastructure compares to similar facilities worldwide.
Now I'll end on a point that has also been raised. These companies are in the Niger Delta to make money, which would make neglect of pipelines and the installation of taps counterintuitive, so much of these problems must be exaggerated...right? I find the logic of the question fine, but the only answer I can come up with is that they are still making plenty of money despite having many spills and operating with outdated infrastructure. The costs of dealing with infrastructure and vandalism prevention are simply outweighed by the benefits of not doing so!
There are many more issues, but I will end on this note. I find it disingenuous that the oil producers (including NNPC) bemoan the costs of dealing with vandalism and with providing funds for community development. The fact remains that they must still be making a pretty penny (or kobo) despite these costs along with the costs to their reputations globally.
From Shell's Website:
"SPDC agrees that, in the past, not enough oil revenue has been returned to the oil producing areas for developmental purposes. SPDC and other Shell companies in Nigeria pay tax and royalties each year into the federal budget. The government then decides how to spend and distribute this money among the states. The division of revenues is the subject of intense political discussion. SPDC has made its views known and contributed to debates aimed at improving governance of the allocation of oil revenue to oil-producing communities, which includes the Ogonis. Shell initiated and was a leading sponsor of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, which openly publishes payments made to the government by the energy industry and the allocation of money to states by the federal government."
What do you think regarding the above statement?
