On May 1st, 2010, a ruptured
ExxonMobil pipeline in the state of
Akwa Ibom
Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Ib ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, spilled more than a million gallons into the
delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
and contributed to the major
environmental issues in the Niger Delta Environmental issues in the Niger Delta are caused by its petroleum industry. The delta covers within wetlands of formed primarily by sediment deposition. Home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, this floodplain makes up 7.5% of ...
. The spill had occurred at an Exxon platform some 20-25 miles (32-40 km) offshore which feeds the
Qua Iboe oil export terminal.
Exxon Mobil declared
force majeure on Qua Iboe oil shipments due to the pipeline damage.
The leakage in the Qua Iboe oil field discharged about 232 barrels of
crude into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
contaminating the waters and coastal settlements in the predominantly fishing communities along Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
Effects
Many locals in the region attest to
environmental damage
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defin ...
that allegedly developed as a result of the leak. Past oil spills in the delta's creeks have been left to fester for decades, polluting the air,
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debri ...
, and
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
of impoverished communities.
Nigeria sees its future output growth largely in offshore fields and does not want spills there to compound its environmental woes.
Checks by
Sahara Reporters
Sahara Reporters is an online news agency based in New York City that focuses on promoting citizen journalism by encouraging everyday people to report stories about corruption, human rights abuses and other political misconduct in Africa, with s ...
revealed that the fishermen reportedly hauled in fish killed in ExxonMobil’s oil spill in a location about 20 kilometers from the shoreline and supplied the bad fish to unsuspecting members of the public.
The Nigerian Environmental Rights Action group issued a demand for N51 billion ($100 Million) from ExxonMobil in Nigeria for their failure to compensate fishermen within the coastal areas who suffered devastating losses due to the oil company’s exploration activities and major oil spills.
Thick balls of tar have also been sighted washed upon the shoreline as well as oil slicks.
The spill has only exacerbated the already growing problem of pollution in the Delta. The Nigerian government estimates there were over 7,000 spills, large and small, between 1970 and 2000, according to the
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...
. That is approximately 300 spills a year, and some spills have been leaking for years.
Vast swathes of the Delta have been seen covered with tar and stagnant lakes of crude due to oil spills of the past.
near the coast to contain the oil spill.
These dispersants were considered a violation of environmental standards in the oil industry.
Rev. Samuel Ayadi, Akwa Ibom State Chapter Chairman of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), said that ExxonMobil was in the habit of using dangerous chemical dispersants which are scientifically proven to be toxic to human and aquatic life to clean up oil spills whenever they occur.
He also noted that dispersants were even more dangerous than crude oil because it breaks down the crude oil and sinks it to the sea bed where it kills fish eggs and fingerlings thereby wiping out generations of fish stock and other sea food and marine creatures that make up the food chain.
Following the May 1 spill, protests by women and youth in the local areas disrupted oil production at Mobil facilities for two days, with reports of soldiers beating protestors, including one woman who suffered a broken leg.
, Mobil, and core host communities.
Among the topics raised was “the issue of the oil company playing one community against another.”