Nigerian Oil Spills

Paper Summary:

Oil has been an important part of the Nigerian economy since vast reserves of petroleum were discovered in the 1950s. In 1997, Nigeria earned over 95 percent of its foreign exchange from the sale of oil on the global market. Foreign oil companies dominated oil
exploration, drilling and shipping in Nigeria, with Shell Oil controlling approximately 60 percent of the country's domestic oil market. This paper examines the huge environmental damage in Nigeria caused by oil spills, gas-flaring and oil waste dumping. The paper looks at the destruction to the biodiversity of the affected regions, loss of wildlife and soil fertility and health problems. It looks, in particular, at the problems which affect the Ogoni people of the Delta region and the compensation Shell was forced to pay. Finally, the paper discusses the future of Nigeria's oil industry and Shell's promise to improve environmental concerns in the region.

From the Paper:

"Critics note that such low-tech security operations can surely be significantly improved, especially when hundreds of millions of dollars are spent in developing technologies to discover oil under the ground. There are many oil pipeline surveillance technologies currently on the market, including a host of fiber optic sensors that detect stress in the pipelines and drilling equipment through subtle shifts in the optic wavelength. Researches at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio have developed harmonic sensors that can be placed inside of pipes via the flow of oil and then attach themselves to the interior to measure outside force. And over the last two years, ChevronTexaco has invested tens of millions of dollars in startup companies that design pipeline sensor networks (ibid)."

More papers on Nigerian Oil Spills:

• Cause and Effect Essay # 28997 : "Nigerian Oil Spills"
• Case Study # 116776 : "Shell Oil in Nigeria"
• Term Paper # 121076 : "Effect of Oil Spills"

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