THE NIGERIAN STATE, POLITICS OF NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION, 1999- 2012

THE NIGERIAN STATE, POLITICS OF NATURAL GASPRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION, 1999- 2012 A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUI

THE NIGERIAN STATE, POLITICS OF NATURAL GAS

PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE

NIGER DELTA REGION, 1999- 2012

A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc.) DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (POLITICAL ECONOMY)

TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF

This is to certify that Mokuye, Stephens Onyekachukwu embarked on this project entitledThe Nigerian State, Politics of Natural Gas Production and Environmental Sustainability inthe Niger Delta Region, 1999- 2012 and meets the regulations governing the award of thedegree of Master of Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and is approved for itscontribution to knowledge

APPROVAL PAGE

This research work by Mokuye, Stephens Onyekachukwu (PG/M.SC./12/61998) has beenapproved by the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

By

………

Prof Aloysius-Michaels OKOLIE Prof Jonah ONUOHA

.Prof Christopher O T UGWU

Faculty of the Social Sciences

DEDICATION

A work of this magnitude enjoyed the efforts of many individuals and here is the mostauspicious opportunity to register my profound and sincere appreciation to all First, I wish todeeply thank God for His immeasurable grace, strength, inspiration and leading, particularly

at those trying moments in the course of this Masters programme But for Your grace, Iwould have thrown in the towel My brothers, Elder Theophilus, Elder Smart and PastorAloysius Mokuye, and Sisters Mrs Gladys Osiele and Mrs Justina Augustine have in theirown ways given me the most needed support morally, spiritually, materially and financially.God bless you and your families

My Supervisor, Prof Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, thank you for your patience with myslow pace, attention to details and helpful suggestions all through I have learnt a lot byworking under your supervision Thank you so much Winston, Anigbogu and Ekene,Maduaguna, my very wonderful roommates and friends of long standing for yourcooperation, understanding and supports You chose to be inconvenienced for me to makeuse of your Personal Computers at little or no notice for days Chimnonso Ndumele also waspart of this team of understanding trio Noni, your moral support is also herein beingappreciated God bless you all Your sacrifices for my sake will be rewarded speedily

I shall not forget to appreciate Members of the Graduate Students’ Fellowship, (GSF)University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), especially the 2010/2011 Executive Committee (Exco)members who worked with me for a good working relationship and for providing the neededencouragement to me at the threshold of my academic trials Mr Joseph, Iorliam and late Mr.Kunle Animashaun deserve special recognition in this group Thank you for relieving me ofthe financial burden contiguous to this programme

For the authors and scholars ahead of me, thank you for your works which made thisstudy possible I also acknowledge my lecturers in the Department of Political Science underwhose tutelage I hide and from whose wealth of intellectual sagacity I drank since myundergraduate days

My Pastors and spiritual leaders have equally done a great deal of work in the course

of this programme Revd Dr Dan Ozoko, Revds Innocent Eleke and Nkechi Etta, yourmessages were more than enough motivations for me in the pursuit of this whole programme.God knows how much you have impacted my life I equally thank all the friends and2012/2013 course mates, especially those of Political Economy option Thanks for aworthwhile relationship

MOKUYE,Stephens Onyekachukwu

PG/M.SC/2012/61998

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 44

3.2 Environmental Externalities of Gas Flaring in the Niger Delta 49

CHAPTER FOUR

NIGERIAN STATE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL

4.5 Multinational Oil Companies and Gas Production in Nigeria and Western

CHAPTER FIVE

BCM Billion Cubit Metre

CAC Corporate Affairs Commission

DGA Downstream Gas Act

DGSO domestic gas sector obligation

DPR Directorate of Petroleum Resources

E&P Exploration & Production

EGASPIN Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in NigeriaEGTL Escravos Gas to Liquid

EIA Energy Information Administration

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment Act

ERA Environmental Right Action

FEPA Federal Environmental Protection Agency

FMEnv Federal Ministry of Environment

FRN Federal Republic of Nigeria

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GECF Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum

GGF Gas Gathering Facilities

GW Gigawatts

IEA International Energy Agency

IFIs International Financial Institutions

JINN Justice In Nigeria Now

JV Joint Venture

LFN Laws of the Federation of Nigeria

LNG Liquefied Natural Gas

MCF Million Cubit Feet

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MENDMovement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

MNOCs/ MNCs Multinational Oil Corporations

MPR - Ministry of Petroleum Resources

NAFCON National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria

NAG Non Associated Gas

NAGFRA Natural Gas Fiscal Reform Act

NBC Nigerian Bitumen Company

NDDC Niger Delta Development Commission

NDES Niger Delta Environmental Survey

NDVF Niger Delta Volunteer Force

NEITI Non Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative

NESREA National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency NGC Nigerian Gas Company

NGMP Nigerian Gas Master Plan

NIPP National Integrated Power Projects

NLCA Nigerian Local Content Act

NLNG Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas

NNOC Nigerian National Oil Corporation

NNPC Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

OEL Oil Exploration License

OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

OML Oil Mining Lease

OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

OPL Oil Prospecting License

PAHs Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

PIB Petroleum Industry Bill

PSCs Production Sharing Contracts

RST Rentier State Theory

SCF Standard Cubic Feet

SCs Service Contracts

SEPAs State Environmental Protection Agencies

SPDC Shell Petroleum Development Company

TCF Trillion Cubic Feet

TSGP Trans Saharan Gas Pipeline Project

UNDP United Nations Development Progamme

UNEP United Nations Environment Progamme

UNFCCC Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNO United Nations Organization

VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds

WAGPWest African Gas Pipeline Project

List of Map

Map 1: Map of Niger Delta 31

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.2: Nigeria's Treaties and Conventions on the Environment 48-49 Table 3.3: Gas Industry Policy Framework in Norway and Nigeria 53-55 Table 3.4: Figure of Gas Produced, Utilized and Flared Since 1970 59

Table 4.1: International Oil Companies Operating in Nigeria 70-71

to series of peaceful protests at the onset which were met by state repression and protection ofthe foreign interests It is paradoxical that a region which contributes the lion share to thecountry’s GDP and to highest foreign exchange earner remained in a state of squalor andimpoverishment compared to no other regions of the country This study adopted the RentierState Theory as its theoretical framework The study relied on secondary sources of data

which were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis The ex post facto research design

was adopted in the collection of data for this study The study argued that the rentiercharacter of the Nigerian state ensconced in colonial heritage has fuelled the unsustainableoperational practices in the oil industry that continues to waste economic-laden natural gasfor oil which causes environmental degradation, displacement of host communities and

destruction of the traditional ways of life of the people, especially their livelihood A justenvironmental practice which respects right to a healthy environment, fiscal federalism,amongst others was recommended.

CHAPTER ONE

The geographic entity called Nigeria was formally created in 1914 following theamalgamation of the then Northern and Southern Protectorates by Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard,who became the first Governor General, thus heralding the formal occupation of the territory

by Britain as one of its colonies (Openmind Foundation) Agriculture was the country’s majorforeign exchange earner The various regions that make up the country, northern, western andeastern regions were, endowed with different agricultural produce (ground nut, cocoa andpalm oil respectively) (Adekoya, 2010) The discovery of oil in 1956 and the subsequent oilboom of the 1970s led to a sharp decline in the volume of agricultural produce from thesevarious geopolities Agriculture which accounted for over 65% of the country’s GDP in 1959fell to a minimal 9% in the 1980s (www.mongaby.com) while oil rose from a meagre 0.3% inthe 1960s to over 75% at the turn of the century (Lawal, 2004 cited in Ikelegbe, 2005:208;

Braji, 2006.par 11; Alawode & Omisakin, 2011:1; Amnesty, 2009:11)

The economic importance of natural resource exploitation in Nigeria cannot be emphasized Of overriding significance is oil and gas exploitation in the Niger Delta region,which is the economic lifeblood of the nation and has influenced the nature and character ofpolitics in the country (Ibeanu, 2008) The region equally produces tin, timber, steel, tin,rubber, palm oil and many more, aside oil and gas However, the discovery of oil incommercial quantity led to a sharp decline in the production of these other foreign exchangeearning products (mongaby.com) Consequently, the concentration of productive forces on oiland the emergence of a monocultural economy anchored on the aggressive exploitation of oilforced people engaged in these other products to embrace the new national resource (Edo,2011) Since 1956, when oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, present dayBayelsa State of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, the place (Niger Delta) has witnessed acontinual flurry of exploration and processing activities by multinational oil companies,which doubles as gas producers Nigeria relies heavily on oil revenue and recently, revenuefrom natural gas has added to the country’s foreign exchange earnings Hydrocarbon is thecountry’s single most important export commodity If recent discovery is anything to go by,natural gas production will triple the quantum of oil production as the country has natural gasreserve that is three times more than oil (Igwe, 2011)

over-Prospecting for crude oil and invariably, gas dates back to 1908 when a German Firm,the Nigerian Bitumen Company (NBC) commenced operation around Okitipupa in presentday Ondo State The NBC after initial search for bitumen switched to oil This was followed

by Shell D’Arcy in 1937 when the former abandoned the project due to inexplicable “politicsand the aftermath of the World War I” (Ebohon, 2013:209)

Natural gas is either Associated or non-associated with oil in oilwells In the NigerDelta the bulk of natural gas endowment is associated As such it is accidental to theexploration and production of crude oil (Aghalino, 2009), which was in high demand globally

in the late 1950s through the 1970s With the success recorded by Shell British Petroleum inthe discovery of oil in commercial quantity, many other foreign oil companies angling foroperating license made their way into the burgeoning hydrocarbon industry in the country.These later entrants include Eni, Chevron, Total and ExxonMobil operating Joint Venture(JV) with the national oil behemoth, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC(Amnesty, 2009; Gilbert, 2010) There was no particular gas production developmenttemplate in the early days of oil production Hence there was no specific gas policy regimeguiding, as it were, gas production and utilisation in the country As a result, oil productioncompanies prefer to waste the gas incidental and associated to crude oil production in what is

referred to as gas flaring (Niger Delta Environmental Survey, 1996) Flaring of associated gas

in the Niger Delta since 1957 with an estimated initial production output of 2,014 millioncubic feet (Aghalino, 2009) has continued in over 1,000 different locations in the region(Alakpodia, 2000) whereas the same is converted to industrial and domestic use in othercountries namely, Canada, The Netherlands, Norway, etc (Diugwu., Ijaiya., Mohammed &Egila, 2013) which contravenes extant anti-flare out legislations with the first legislation in

1969 (Ogbara, 2009) Huge balls of smoke still cover the skyline of the region causingexcessive heat, deafening noise from the production facility, lighted night, rusted roofingsheet, contaminated water, health-related problems as well as degradation of the environment(UNDP, 2006; Bassey, 2008; Ibeanu, 2008:11)

The Niger Delta region holds 100% of the oil and gas deposits in the country Arcton, 2007) Crude oil export from this region accounts for over 90% of the country’sforeign exchange earnings and 75% of her Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (James, 2010).Earnings from the oil and gas sector contribute the highest amount of revenue to governmentcoffers since the early 1970s following the global oil boom

(Quist-Apart from oil production, the region is equally reputed for the production of naturalgas Natural gas in the region is the highest in Africa and among the highest in the world.With a proven natural gas reserve of 5,154 million standard cubic metres and “300 trillionstandard cubic feet undiscovered but recoverable gas” (OPEC, 2011; Malumfashi, 2007:23),Nigeria is the 7th largest natural gas producing country in the world and the 1st in Africa(Ernst & Young , 2012:6; Mokuye, Ezebuiro & Ekomaru, 2013:180)

According to Babatunde (2010:1) the Niger Delta region has “the largest mangroveforests in Africa and the third largest in the world” It is Nigeria’s largest wetland region andcovers over 70,000 square kilometres between latitude 4050’ and longitude 5025’E and 7037’E(Oluwagbami, 2001; Idris, 2008; Anwana, 2011) The region has an estimated population of

30 million people accounting for over 23% of the country’s total population as of 2005 and it

is believed to be the most heterogeneous having over 20 different languages (Saro-Wiwa,1995; Kemedi, 2003; UNDP Report, 2006; Malumfashi, 2007) which include Ijaw, Itshekiri,Urhobo, Isoko, Ogoni, Efik, Ibibio, Bini, Ika, Ukwani, Igbo, Yoruba, etc Prior to 2000, theNiger Delta comprised of six states of the south-south namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, CrossRiver, Delta, Edo and Rivers But the NDDC Act 2000 extended the states and region toinclude Abia, Imo and Ondo (Malumfashi, 2007) The nine states have a total of 185 LocalGovernment Areas with over 20 different ethnic nationalities (Dike, 1965; Ikime, 1972;Onosode, 2003) The Niger Delta suffers from high illiteracy rate; high mortality rate and lowlife expectancy due to their continued exposure to health-reducing oil-related activities of theMNOCs (UNDP, 2006) The Region had a death rate of 14.7 per 1000 in 2003 (Omuta, 2011)and life expectancy estimate of 43 years (UNDP Report, 2006)

The huge oil revenue accruing to the government has not been translated into tangiblebenefits to the people of the Niger Delta, where the oil wealth that sustained the country inthe past fifty years has been produced The environmental degradation of the terrain makesthe region an ecological disaster (Babatunde 2010) The economic benefits from natural gashave not been properly harnessed in Nigeria compared to other gas destinations in Africa likeAlgeria, Egypt and Libya whose natural gas reserves are lesser than what Nigeria has Algeriatops the natural gas production list in Africa with 83.7BCM followed by Egypt (60.6BCM)(Ernst &Young, 2012:7)

In view of these enormous capacity of the gas market, the inability of Nigeria to keyinto the current global gas production drive by mandating the oil producing companies to end

wasting of over $2billion daily to gas flaring is lamentable and a reflection of institutionalweakness (Auge, 2010) It has been much talk with little or at best feeble action in harnessingthis natural endowment for the purpose of driving industrialization, job creation andinvariably, national economic growth and political power in the world energy-dominantpolitics Although natural gas production in Nigeria is not entirely a new development, it wasnot until 1999 that the first train of liquefied gas was exported from the Nigerian LiquefiedNatural Gas (NLNG) Terminal This first shipment marked the country’s entrance into theleague of gas producing economies The country as at 2011 has 160 trillion cu ft of gasreserve and 37.2 billion barrels of oil reserve which places Nigeria second only to Libya’s 39billion barrels in terms of oil reserves (EIA, 2006).

This study, therefore, focuses on the Nigerian state, politics of natural gas productionand its implications for environmental sustainability in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

Right from the time Nigeria joined the league of oil producing countries; gasproduction for domestic and foreign utilisation has never been taken seriously Themultinational oil companies were concerned with oil production, thus no serious attentionwas given to the production and utilisation of natural gas The country ranked 27th in theworld with 29BCM of gas produced as at 2010 below Algeria, 9th and Egypt, 13th(Wikipedia.com) with about 187tcf This figure shows an increase of 23 tcf over the figure in

2006 Further research findings however, reveal that Nigeria has a proven gas reserve of600tcf estimate, the highest in Africa (Corporate Nigeria, 2010) This is an indication that theplayers and stakeholders in the oil and gas sector lack accurate figure of the amount of naturalgas the country has The MNOCs, the State oil monopoly, NNPC, and private bodies seem tohave different figures This clearly shows the lack lustre attitude of the Nigerian state Proved

Reserves refer to the quantity of oil and natural gas estimated to be recoverable from known

fields under existing economic and operating conditions This is determined on the basis ofdrilling results, production and historical trends In spite of her enormous gas endowment,Nigeria still lags behind Algeria and Egypt in terms of daily production This could be traced

to low production and distribution caused by lack of gas infrastructure to channel producedgas to the various power stations, and industries that need the product, and a concrete pricingregime Gas is still being flared in the country In fact, Nigeria still flares more than 2.5billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas daily (Uche, 2012 www.oilandgas.com) James (2010)

laments that this waste in Dollar term is $2.5b daily and this amount is higher than the annualbudget of the country when a yearly estimate is made The Nigerian government is willing tolose over N4tr because of the revenue it receives as fine for flaring the associated gas whichwould cease should there be an end to gas flaring.

Flaring of Associated Gas (AG) encountered during the search or production of oil is

a deliberate cost-saving policy adopted by MNOCs While the oil is processed, the associatedgas can be flared, vented or re-injected into the wellhead In 2012, government reported that20% of gas produced was flared (Jonathan, 2013) But verifiable data from credibleenvironmental agencies put the amount of flared gas at 50% (Uche, 2012www.oilandgas.com) This is still a far cry from the zero flare rating Royal Dutch Shell in theNetherlands- the parent company of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)operating in Nigeria- has attained Norway recorded less than 0.05% flare out compliance as

at 2003 (Onyekonwu, 2007:7) The amount of unutilised gas (wasted energy resource) viaflaring in Nigeria is about 45% of the energy requirements of France, the world’s 4th largest

economy (Ashton et al 1999 cited in Onyekonwu, 2007:8).

The country’s multibillion dollar foreign exchange potential accruable from the sale

of gas goes up in flames daily in the Niger Delta till date The incentives provided bygovernment to harness the gas resource, create employment and stimulate economic growthnotwithstanding Laudable projects like the Trans Saharan Gas Pipeline Project (TSGP)conceived in 2001 is yet to kick off due to government epileptic attempt and foot-dragging(Auge, 2010) Even the West African Gas Pipeline Project (WAGP) which commencedoperation in 2010 was shut down in 2012 Flare out deadlines come and go and oil producingcompanies flout these legislations with impunity Penalty for such mindless acts has beennothing but a slap on the wrist This is the direct opposite from what obtains in the developedeconomies where these same oil corporations operate

In its Country Analysis Briefs, Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2011:1)notes that:

Nigeria holds the largest natural gas reserves in Africa but haslimited infrastructure in place to develop the sector Naturalgas that is associated with oil production is mostly flared butthe development of regional pipelines, the expansion ofliquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and policies to ban

gas flaring are expected to accelerate growth in the sector,both for export and domestic use in electricity generation.

These moves are yet to accelerate growth in the gas subsector Nigeria is endowedwith vast natural gas, coal, and renewable energy resources that could be used for domesticelectricity generation and foreign exchange earnings Regrettably, the country lacks policiesthat could be effectively deployed to harness the huge resources and develop and/or improvethe electricity infrastructure, attract foreign exchange and create job opportunities Thecountry is still grappling with the problem of epileptic electricity supply; inexplicable youthunemployment for a well endowed country like Nigeria; dilapidated infrastructure andmounting local and foreign debt Several plans had been initiated by successive Nigeriangovernments to address the looming unemployment, insecurity and the need for power,including a recent announcement to create 40 Gigawatts (GW) of capacity by 2020(compared to 2008 installed capacity of 6 GW)

Meanwhile, Igwe (2011:1) states that:

Natural gas as a raw material is produced in abundance in oiland gas wells throughout Nigeria Nigerian gas is concentrated

in the Niger Delta which covers an area of about 41,000 sq

miles (106,189.50 km2) Of the total Nigeria’s provenreserves, 70% is located on land while 30% can be found off-shore About 60% are located east of the River Niger while therest are to the West of the River Niger Experts estimate thatthe reserves locked in the Nigerian soil is enough to last aslong as 500 years, fuelling our industries, homes, andinternational export

This abundant resource has remained underdeveloped due to so many limitations.Prior to 1999, over 75% of associated gas incidental to the production of oil was flared.Nigeria’s notoriety in this unhealthy practice made her at one time the highest gas flaringnation in the world, (Malumfashi, 2007) Akinjide, Kola-Balogun & Akinjide (1998:1)corroborated the foregoing thus:

Gas production in Nigeria is mostly linked to the production ofoil This "associated gas" is separated from oil at flow stationsand more than 70 percent of it is simply flared Currentestimates show that Nigeria produces an average of 34 billioncubic metres (bcm) of gas yearly out of which 75 per cent isflared

The foregoing is a far cry from economic development and wielding of politicalpower centred around gas ownership, production and control Russia has properly harnessed

and utilized its gas product through its monopoly company, Gazprom Russia controls 25% of

gas supply to the whole of Western Europe (Auge, 2010) which makes her a dominant powerbloc in her economic sphere of influence; and the little island state of Trinidad and Tobagowhose gas market has spread from the Carribean to America, Europe, Japan and South Korea(Campbell, 2007) Trinidad and Tobago has sustained her supply chain since she hit the gasmarket with her first train of LNG in April, 1999 (the same year that Nigeria also shipped herfirst train of LNG to the global gas market) While investment in gas production is bringingmore economic returns as well as conferring political clout on countries like Russia, Trinidadand Tobago, Iran, etc, Nigeria is still grappling with reaping the massive gains in gasproduction and supply due to government foot-dragging on the phase-out of gas flaring andthe conversion of the flared gas to usable forms (Aghalino, 2009; Campbell, 2007) Eventhough Nigeria’s natural gas exports increased from 25,941 million standard cubic feet in

2011 to 28,266 million standard cubic in 2012, representing nine per cent increase from theprevious year (Okere, 2013), the problem of gas flaring (13.182mscf)- a major environmentalissue- still subsists Igwe (2011:5) identified five key barriers that have hindered the countryfrom experiencing rapid economic growth from the multibillion gas subsector as “pricing,fiscal terms, institutional and infrastructural arrangements, legal and regulatory framework,and financing”

The rise in the global demand for gas has brought attendant negative impact on theenvironment It is hard to believe that Nigeria still allows gas flaring in spite of itsunequivocal pursuit, at least on paper, to major international environmental agreements such

as convention on Bio-diversity, Climate change, and Ozone layer protection among others In

what would be considered a volte force the proviso in the original Petroleum Industry Bill

(PIB) to wit, that gas flaring would end at all oil production installations in Nigeria byDecember 31, 2012, has been left hanging in the new version of the PIB with no definite end

to flaring of gas, a practice that has been declared illegal by a Benin High Court since 2005.The New PIB reads that gas flare phase-out will be as soon as practicable (Bassey, 2008; PIB,2012a; PIB, 2012b) Section 275 of the Draft PIB (2012b:144) reads thus:

Natural gas shall not be flared or vented after a date (‘theflare out date) to be prescribed by the Minister inregulations made pursuant to this Part, in any oil and gas

producing operation, block or field, onshore or offshore,gas facility such as, processing or treatment plant, withthe exception of permits granted under subsection (1) ofSection 277 of this Act.

This is contrary to the first version of this Bill with a definite time frame for an end toflaring of gas In the first version of the PIB (2012a, 132-133) it was provided that “Naturalgas shall not be flared or vented after 31st December, 2012, in any oil and gas productionoperation, block or field, onshore or offshore, or gas facility (e.g processing treatment plant),with the exception of such permits granted under section (1)(b).”

Emerging global energy consumption pattern has shown a rising increase in thedemand for natural gas It has been projected that global consumption of natural gas willdouble by 2030, edging it past coal to become the second most exploited source of energy inthe world (EIA, 2004) Gas has gained popularity due to its relatively clean and efficientcombustion when compared to both coal and oil Growth in demand is expected to be greatest

in the United States, Western Europe, China, Brazil and India, primarily for generation of

electrical power to be used by heavy industry and residences (Barnes, et al 2006) Nigerian

gas is highly sought after due to its 0% sulphur content (Ige, 2008) Though gas production inNigeria increased to 84.845 million standard cubic feet (mscf) in 2012 as against 84.004 mscf

in 2011 (Okere, 2013); a lot more need to be done to gather all the stranded and/or wasted gas

in wellheads in all the oil production sites in the Niger Delta put at 350Mmcf/d due to lack ofinfrastructure and delay in some National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), especially ineastern Niger Delta (Ige, 2012:7)

The obvious deduction from the above is that hydrocarbon (oil and gas) exploration andproduction in Nigeria is initiated, midwifed and sustained by MNOCs that are transnational innature The Nigerian State has been the rent collector and has presence in the managerialposition in its Joint Venture agreement with these foreign oil and gas companies Its lack oftechnical expertise has continued to limit its regulatory functions through the NNPC leavingthis critical aspect to foreign expatriates which is an equally dangerous part to tow as itundermines the sovereignty of the Nigerian nation The Petroleum Act, 1969 Section 1 Cap

350 LFN and the 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Section 40 (1) and (3)

as well as the 1999 Constitution Section 44 (3) provide that the “entire ownership and control

of all petroleum (gas, oil and condensate) resources and reserves in the Federal Republic ofNigeria is vested in the Federal Government of Nigeria” Onyekonwu (2007: 4) These

legislations transferred ownership of every resource found in, under, airspace and territorialwaters of Nigeria to the Federal Government This was a wholesale adaptation of the 1914Mineral Act amended in 1946 in which Section 3 (1) “vested all mineral oils found under orupon any land, under rivers, streams and water courses on the Crown (The BritishGovernment)”, Onyekonwu (2007: 2)

By granting operational license to foreign oil companies to prospect and produce oil andgas products, the country, technically speaking, handed over part of its sovereignty toexternal institutions, the MNOCs, to have a say in its internal politics The massiveenvironmental problems arising from oil production, namely gas flaring, pollution, etc are theconsequences of continuous abuse of Niger Delta indigenes and government’s absence in theregion having given the MNOCs the right to full exploitation of the oil related resources.Copious and various environmental policies and laws intended to ensure healthy environment

as well as regulate the activities of MNOCs have remained unenforceable largely owing tothe centrality of oil wealth to the continued survival of the Nigerian state which is benefittingfrom the existing arrangement whereby oil companies pay paltry sum as fines especially forflaring money-bearing gas in their operation fields across the Niger Delta, turning deaf ear tothe pernicious living condition of people in this region (Saro-Wiwa, 1995) The oilcompanies equally prefer to pay these fines instead of installing gas gathering facilities thatrequire heavy financial investment (Environmental Right Action (ERA), 2011) whichobviously they are not ready to embark on

Mean while, existing scholarship have implicated corruption; weak government structure,sabotage and lack of political will by the Nigerian state in partnership with its variousenvironmental regulatory agencies, as reasons for the continued gross underutilization ofnatural gas and its subsequent wastage through gas flaring in the Niger Delta Although theseare true, scholarship appears to ignore a deeper cause of this odious scenario in the Country’shydrocarbon industry In deed the country’s colonial heritage (structure, governance, etc) andits peripheral attachment to the western capitalist economic system which encouragestransnational organizations to control economic activities in foreign lands, especially indeveloping economies have not been given adequate systematic analysis The study shallattempt to fill the lacuna noted in the literature within the context of the following researchquestions:

1) Has the poor implementation of environmental policies by the Nigerian Statecompromised sustainable environment in the Niger Delta?

2) Does the dominance of oil and gas production by multinational oil companiesundermine the State’s ability to ensure sustainable environment in the Niger Delta?

The broad objective of this study is to examine the Nigerian state, politics of natural gasproduction and environmental sustainability in the Niger Delta region, 1999- 2012 However,the specific objectives are:

1 To determine if poor implementation of environment policies by the Nigerian statehas compromised sustainable environment in the Niger Delta;

2 To establish if the dominance of oil and gas production by multinational companiesundermines the state’s ability to ensure sustainable environment in the Niger Delta

Study on gas production has attracted serious local and global attention in the wake ofincreased global demand for the product as a good alternative to other forms of fossil fuels

Expectedly, the study has theoretical as well as practical significance It will in nosmall measure fertilize desire for more research into this aspect of our national economic life.Furthermore, it will be a template for mobilizing effective State-led gas production regime inorder to drive the economy It will add to the existing body of knowledge and act as areference point for further study

Practically, the study will engender the emergence of vibrant non-governmentalenvironmental awareness and advocacy groups that will embark on massive environmentalawareness campaign beyond the currently existing agitative groups Policy makers,community and faith-based leaders will find this work invaluable in formulatingenvironmentally friendly policies, enlightening their followers and members in adoptingenvironmentally healthy practices It will equally serve as a veritable piece in the struggle forenvironmentally just and equitable living in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW

Review of existing literature came under two subheadings The first consideredpolicies of Nigerian government on the environment and the extent of implementation Andthe second covered the Nigerian State and its implementation of environmental policies,especially in gas production in the Niger Delta and its implication for sustainableenvironment

Government Policies and Environmental Sustainability

Adibe & Essaghah (1999); Obabori, Ekpu & Ojealaro (2009); Ibaba (2010); Eneh & Agbazue(2011); Omuta (2011); Anyanwu (2012); Fagbohun (2012) and Adelegan (2004) agreed thatthe year 1988 marked a watershed in environmental policy regime in Nigeria This not by adeliberate attempt and informed willingness for its imperative in safeguarding the health andwellbeing of Nigerians but a response to a trespass by two Italian firms which dumped a3,880 metric tons of assorted harmful wastes of five shiploads at Koko, present day DeltaState as a face-saving measure This ugly incident revealed the paucity of environmentalpolicy in the country safe for inchoate patchwork legislations inserted and interspersed inother Laws, Decrees and Acts that are incidental to the environment The military top brass ofthe day waking up from the shock promulgated the first comprehensive environmental policy,the Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions, etc) Decree No.42 of 1988 The law makes

it an offence for any person to “carry, deposit, dump, or be in possession, for the purpose ofcarrying, depositing or dumping, any harmful waste anywhere on Nigerian soil, inland waters

or seas” This was immediately followed by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency(FEPA) Decree No.58, 1989 on December, 30th and it was later known as FEPA Act, 1999

FEPA was an agency of the Federal Government It was the first environmental body

to be created by the Nigerian State It provides in Section 41 that the environment “includeswater, air, land and all plants and human beings or animals living therein and theinterrelationships which exist among these or any of them.” (FEPA Act, 1989:18) The FEPAAct was a well celebrated piece of fine legislation that put the problem of the environment onthe front burner In the years following, more and more environmental decrees, policies,legislations and standards were reeled out by the government Ebohme (2006:3) delineatedNigeria’s environmental legislation into two eras namely, Pre-1988 and Post-1988 Theformer include: The Mineral Ordinance 1914; Forestry Ordinance 1937; The Oil Pipeline Act

1958; The Petroleum Drilling and Production Act 1969; The Sea Fisheries Decree 1971; TheSea Fisheries Regulation 1972; Exclusive Economic Zone Decree 1978; The Kanji LakeNational Park Decree 1979; The Endangered Species Decree 1985; National ConservationStrategy for Nigeria 1986 (Dibie, 2000:133) These are by no means an exhaustive list of pre-

1988 environmental legislations Regions and States equally promulgated and/or enactedDecrees and laws within the timeframe

Citing Ogbalu (n.d), Ebohme (2006) asserts that Post-1988 environmental regime was

a response to a National Emergency- alluding to the 1988 Koko waste dumping episode Hefurther posits that the Pre-1988 legislations ‘were disparate and inchoate’ (Ebohme, 2006:2)and there were general lack of awareness of environmental protection and development.Consequently, there was no specific organization or agency of government vested with themandate to regulate activities of industrial concerns in the country as at then Major Post-

1988 environmental laws are The Natural Resources Conservation Council Decree 1989;Federal Environmental Protection Decree 1989; National Policy on the Environment Decree1989; National Parks Decree 1991; Environmental Impact Assessment Decree 1992; Ministry

of the Environment Decree, 1996 which replaced FEPA The National EnvironmentalStandards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act 2007 is the most recentenvironmental enforcement Agency “charged with responsibility for the protection anddevelopment of the environment in Nigeria; and for related matters” (NESREA, 2007:3)

Ibaba (2010) lamented that none of the Post-1988 environmental laws waswholeheartedly implemented He picked hole with the FEPA Act of 1988 for lacking strongprovisions on the oil and gas industry except for S.23 of the Act which requires the Agency to

‘co-operate’ with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) to remove oil relatedpollutants discharge into the Nigerian environment as well as play supportive role to theMinistry of Petroleum Resources from time to time when the Ministry through its Directoratefor Petroleum Resources (DPR) may require such from the Agency The National Policy onthe Environment, 1989 (Revised 1999) was developed from the FEPA Decree, 1988 Thiswas the next environmental legislation that shows the willingness of the Nigerian government

to tackle environmental problems But, like the other pre-existing environmental provisions,

it never so much left the paper on which it was written The State cleverly removed the oilindustry from the supervision and control of these environmental policies

Nigerian State and the Implementation of Environmental Policies

The Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) has the statutory role of supervising andregulating the oil industry in Nigeria The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), asubsidiary of the NNPC which is under the supervision of the (MPR) has the statutoryresponsibility of developing environmental standards and policies specific to the oil industry

in Nigeria (www.nnpc.com) Companies engaged in exploration and production activities inthe oil and gas sector are regulated by the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for thePetroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN, 2002) produced by the Department of PetroleumResources However, as Ibaba (2010) noted, the Directorate has not been able to adequatelydischarge its regulatory function due to conflict of interest As such, MNOCs have continued

to assault the Niger Delta communities as they will not be held accountable by the Regulator(Bassey, 2008)

The only undisputed fact is that exploitation and production of hydrocarbon in theNiger Delta brought throes and woes to the inhabitants of that region The people havebecome more miserable, impoverished, neglected, underdeveloped, marginalized, massivelyexploited and consigned to worst forms of inhuman treatment (Aghalino, 2000; Ibeanu, 2006;Allen, 2011; Ojakorotu & Gilbert, 2010) When the first smoke went up from the productionfacility at Oloibiri, Bayelsa State in 1958, there was great expectation and high hope; hope of

a better life for the people of the region Alas! The condition of the Niger Delta indigenesafter over half a century is pain, frustration, injustice and exploitation The environment isravaged; degraded, destroyed and the living condition of the people is lamentable, precarious,terrible and dangerously dehumanizing (Ibeanu, 2008; Eregha & Irughe (2009); Justice InNigeria Now (JINN), 2010; Anikpo, Ibaba, Peterside, Onyido, Nyulaku, Ekiye & Kpodo(2013) The people felt cheated and shortchanged by the Nigerian State and the MultinationalOil Companies, which are enjoying government’s support in the despoliation of the NigerDelta environment as can be seen in the continued unhealthy hydrocarbon productionpractices namely gas flaring, infrastructural installation without environmental impact duediligence check which is a contravention of the provision of the 1992 Environmental ImpactAssessment Act (EIA), (EIA Act, 1992) Scholars, local and international agreed thathydrocarbon exploitation has left the Niger Delta region worse off There is a theoreticalargument known as Resource Curse Theory adopted in explicating this particular oddity(Ross, 2001; Utomi, 2003; Obi, 2008; Obi, 2010a)

The Nigerian state emerged from the ashes of colonialism through endemic ethniccleavages to military stultification which lingered for over two and half decades (Akwen &Gever, 2011) Formal occupation of the country by colonial powers ended at independence

on October 1st 1960 after a long period of nationalist struggles for independence as a result ofdisenchantment by the elites who were agitating for inclusion in the governance of theircountry (Uwakwe, 2004) The long years of military rule coincided with the period of oilboom of the 1970s, (Onimode, 1983) It was easy for the government of the day to shiftemphasis from agricultural products to oil which was then a global energy product (Ghaleb,2011) As oil was being drilled and channelled to the refineries, as Malumfashi (2007) noted,the gas incidental to oil production was conveniently wasted Between January, 2009 andDecember, 2011 only, a whooping 3.7MMscf of gas was flared (NEITI, 2013) by operators

of the oil and gas companies

The Nigerian gas industry has been recognized as the number one in Africa and aboutthe fourth in the world after Qatar with best quality gas reserves (Ige, 2008) Currently, thecountry’s economic survival is heavily dependent on oil The implication of this dependencefor economic growth should global demand for oil cease can be imagined The reason for theforegoing is not farfetched Late President Umaru Yar’Adua recognized the cardinal role oilplay in our national survival when he notes that the “oil and gas industry remains thebackbone of our economy; contributing over 30% of GDP, 85% of Government revenues andover 90% of foreign exchange earnings” (ThisDay, May 29, 2009:4) Russia has successfullymonopolized the gas market in Europe and has capitalized on gas supply to Europeancountries as a single gas market on the continent Part of the power Russia wields in theworld especially in European politics come primarily from its tight hold on gas supply

through it gas monopoly company, Gazprom (Wright, 2009; Gilbert, 2009) Nigeria, another

regional and continental power in Africa has failed to establish herself through gas marketdominance in the West African Region and on the continent as a whole The Nigerian gasmarket has been slow to respond to the global ferment and jostle for higher involvement indeciding the political destiny of the world by harnessing its abundant gas wealth like othergas-endowed countries, notably Iran, Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Burma,etc (Campbell, 2007; Smith & Htoo, 2006)

Amy & O’Sullivan (2012:8) note that:

The past decade has yielded substantial change in the naturalgas industry Specifically, a rapid development of technologyhas allowed the recovery of natural gas Since 2000, stronggrowth in the production of natural gas has dramaticallyaltered the global natural gas market landscape, withsignificant implications for liquefied natural gas (LNG)suppliers and the geopolitics of energy.

Natural gas endowment is defining global politics at the world stage There arealignment and counter alliances in desperate bid to control the levers of world energy,especially, gas resources And whoever controls energy production or supply, controls power

in the global arena (Obi, 2010b) The size of the country and region of the world isimmaterial in the current ‘gas war’ Smith & Htoo (2006) reported that the 12tcf of naturalgas reserve of the Burmese Shwe Gas deposit has attracted China, India and Thailand despitethe fact that the country is under a military junta To drive home this point, Hever (2011:1)states that “The discovery of … natural gas came at a critical moment in Israeli politics.” Thiswas further accentuated by Wright (2009:1) when she stated that:

Russia’s aggressive dominance of Western Europe’s energymarkets gives pause for thought on the transference of Russiannational interests onto emerging economies As a vestige ofthe Soviet era, Russia considers vast swaths of territory nowdivided into independent states as part of its “sphere ofinfluence.” Central Asian countries are rich with gas andanxious to supply established markets in Western Europe aswell as emerging markets in Eastern Europe and East Asia

Russia has proven its determination to maintain an iron grip

on the European market with the construction of Blue Stream

- another underwater pipeline [Emphasis mine.]

Igwe (2011) laments that Nigeria lacked the same drive and motivation exhibited bysome other gas producing countries A case to buttress this is the poor handling of the gasflare out policy that would have seen flared gases converted for commercial use WhileRussia is everywhere trying to form or enter into alliance with other resource rich countriesand be part of cartels in order to further her economic fortunes, Nigeria which belong to theseinternational energy cartels- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and GasExporting Countries’ Forum (GECF), has exhibited a nonchalant attitude (Fang, Jaffe &Temzelides 2012)

The gas market is a peculiar one due to the interplay of economics, politics andgeography Yegorov & Wirl (2009:3-4), identified reasons for these peculiarities to include:

a) Huge sunk costs and costly transportation;

b) Uneven distribution of gas on Earth:

c) Often bilateral relations, i.e., monopolistic‐ monopsonistic relationships;

d) Transit countries may and do try to capture rents from the gas trade that can create anexternality making a cost‐ineffective investment preferable

Nigeria was slow to respond to the growth in global gas demand until 1999 when the firstliquefied natural gas was sold at the world market from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas(NLNG) Onyeukonwu (2007) observed that gas laws have been drafted since 1969 with thePetroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulation Decree No 51 which stipulates that afeasibility study of gas utilization programme or proposal must be submitted by a licencee orlessee 5 years after the commencement of production activities

OPEC Bulletin (1997) cited in Alawode & Omisakin (2005:146) observed that:

As of 2001, Nigeria’s gas reserves were estimated at 182trillion cubic feet (or 25 billion barrels of oil equivalent) which

is almost as high as the country’s estimated oil reserves of 27billion barrels Appropriate utilization of the abundant naturalgas in Nigeria would offer a lot of benefits for the nation Thebenefits include, just to mention a few, production of dry gasfor local consumption, production of liquefied petroleum gasfor exports, production of liquid hydrocarbons from naturalgas, availability of gas as a cheaper alternative source ofenergy to boost commercial activities and eventuallyemployment level and national income, advancement ofknowledge through research, gas technology transfer and thedevelopment of indigenous expertise in the Nigeria gasindustry, the use of natural gas in electricity generation, andpromotion of environmental protection and safety through theelimination of gas flaring

The International Energy Agency (IEA) (2004) cited in Malumfashi (2007) hasdeclared the “golden age” for gas and Nigeria should be set to benefit from this developmentparticularly, because Nigerian gas has no such downside as it is sulphur-free The Agency haspredicted that gas consumption will account for a quarter of global energy by 2035

Ghaleb (2011:7) captured the dynamics of the new energy regime as it affectsEuropean politics when he notes that “the rapid global transition from oil to natural gas willredefine the way policymakers and strategic security scholars look at the scarcity of naturalgas in Europe.” This, Nigerian leadership must have realized that gas could be a veritableand strategic endowment Igwe (2011:5) shared this view when he notes that “Nigerianleadership lacks innovative drive, and the fortitude to transform nascent innovation intoconcrete reality No grand vision or idea for anything like Dubai, which owes its growth andoutstanding success to visionary leadership, strategic planning, innovative projects, andmeticulous execution” This deplorable state is characterized by decades of non-implementation of any ideas, recycling and revolving unsound leaders, and primitiveunpatriotic accumulation of personal wealth They prefer less qualified foreign experts oftenfor kickbacks No country on planet earth has ever developed without making thingsindependently for itself Canada (Alberta), Saudi Arabia, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago,among other gas endowed countries have used it to come to world political landscape

(Hartley & Medlock, 2005; Gilbert, 2009; Alawode, et al 2011)

Campbell (2007:1) reported that the government of Trinidad and Tobago tookdecisive steps to ensure that the State Gas Company, Atlantic LNG had strong presence in theCaribbean and European markets with the development of long term gas facilities He notesthat Trinidad and Tobago “has succeeded in overhauling its economy largely around its gassector in twenty years The boom in natural gas exploration and development has helped thetwin-island nation transform itself into a major player on the Western Hemisphere gas scene”.While this little known island nation is reaping the benefit of LNG production anddevelopment, Shepard & Ball (2006) report that LNG projects expansion processes inAlgeria, Venezuela and Nigeria- Trinidad’s main competitors; had stalled as a result ofpolitical and technical challenges Coincidentally, Nigeria and Trinidad began exporting LNGthe same year, 1999 But, Nigeria is still unable to maximize her prodigious natural gasendowment even with the avalanche of natural gas production policies, projects andproduction incentives The multinational oil companies have not shown commitment to theproduction of gas which is incidental to the exploration and production of oil in the NigerDelta region 20% of gas produced in the course of oil production is still wasted (Jonathan,2013) The decisive policy direction taken by the government of Trinidad and Tobago bydivesting the multinational oil and gas company, Shell in its energy sector marked thebeginning of a regime of increased investment by the State in natural gas and LNG

development on the island, (Campbell, 2007) But, this is a step the Nigerian State will beunwilling to take because of the dearth of technology and expertise to fully engage inproduction of natural gas in its various variants The supervisory and regulatory roles of theNigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) havenot helped the massive investment in natural gas production (Thurber, Emefiele & Heller,2010).

Gidado (2011) maintained that Nigeria’s natural gas endowment would last for 200years of domestic consumption and export This is a conservative estimation if what expertssay is anything to go by Gas experts have reported that the reserves locked up in the Nigeriansoil is enough to last as long as 500 years, fuelling the country’s industries, homes, andinternational export (Igwe, 2011) Apparently, gas production will still be on long afteroilwells have ceased to yield the ‘black gold’ as the volume of natural gas has been pegged atthrice the volume of oil in Nigeria This feat would be achieved when all the numerous State-led and private-led Gas Gathering Facilities (GGF) and projects see to the complete phase-out

of gas flaring

Anaebonam (2011) contends that gas powered industries will spring up almosteverywhere when the Nigerian Gas Master Plan becomes operational The epilepticelectricity situation in the country would become history Such development will lead to theestablishment of gas based industries like fertilizers, petrochemicals and methanol, urea, etcindustries thereby positioning Nigeria as the regional and continental economic hub But,events in the Nigerian energy sector appear to militate against the foregoing optimism.Presently, the Gas Master Plan unveiled in 2008, has been subsumed in the ill-fatedPetroleum Industry Bill (PIB) The Bill which is a culmination of piecemeal legislations forthe oil and gas sector is still before the National Assembly without certainty when it willcome into force The PIB was first presented to the National Assembly in 2004 For almost adecade the Bill is not yet operational leaving one to wonder whether its passage will come toreality anytime soon

Nigeria has had a litany of energy-related legislations- fine legislations without biteand force Since 1969 when the Petroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulation Decree No

51 of 1969 was made, little or nothing has been achieved in harnessing Nigeria’s gaspotential EIA (2011) report that the wildly celebrated Olokola (OKLNG), Brass LNG andthe Progress LNG projects that would have added seven more gas trains have been stalled

Tentative commencement dates for these projects are 2020 and 2017 respectively (Ernst

&Young, 2012) but evidence on ground does not reflect the realization of these timelines forthese two projects

Oyewunmi (2011:3) submits that “The gas industry is characterized by opaqueness,oligopolistic tendencies, inadequate infrastructure and investments, regulatory capture…” Hefurther noted that the “Unfolding legal/regulatory uncertainties and business environment ofthe past decade has led to stalling of major planned gas utilization projects and developmentssuch as the Trans-Sahara Gas project, Olokola and Brass LNG projects, etc” Policysummersault and discontinuity have been recurrent indices of the Nigerian State Not lessthan a total of twelve different gas related legislation have been made with the twelfth yet toget the nod of the National Assembly (Oyewunmi, 2011)

Gas production started in 1957 with an output of 2,014 million cubic feet and for now,

it has increased to over 2 billion standard cubic feet Tragically, 50 percent of this amount isflared It is to be noted that 12 percent of gas produced in Nigeria is re-injected to enhance oilrecovery

Oil and gas production have not translated in better socio-economic condition ofmajority of the Niger Deltans The people still live in poverty, darkness and disease,(Amnesty, 2009) The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2006:25) reportsthat region suffers from “administrative neglect, crumbling social infrastructure and services,high unemployment, social deprivation, abject poverty, filth and squalor, and endemicconflict.” The majority of the people of the Niger Delta do not have adequate access to cleanwater or health-care Their poverty, and its contrast with the wealth generated by oil, hasbecome one of the world’s starkest and most disturbing examples of the “resource curse”(Utomi, 2003; Obi, 2008; Obi, 2010b)

Amnesty Report (2009) revealed that oil and gas production have brought hugerevenue to the Nigerian State and public officeholders since 1956 But the incidence ofexploration, production and distribution fall squarely on the inhabitants of the Niger DeltaRegion Land degradation, water pollution, land pollution, widespread of diseases,destruction of the ecosystem, etc are some of the negative impacts Niger Deltans had tocontend with for the last 55 years (UNDP, 2006) Amakiri (2003) quoted in Amnesty(2009:20) averred that:

Analysis … has shown the significant impact of oil productionactivities on the landscape of the Niger Delta Many land usecategories that were not there in 1960 increasingly gainedprominence … e.g., dredged canals, flare sites, burrow pits,pipelines… The significant environmental impact of oilproduction activities is also highlighted by the emergence onthe landscape of such land use categories as saltwaterimpacted forest, submerged mangrove, dredge spoil and openbare surfaces.

Adebanji (2010) noted that years of neglect of the wellbeing of inhabitants by theState and oil producing MNCs led to years of agitation and violent conflicts Resource-induced conflicts created a volatile scenario in the Niger Delta with the emergence of militiagroups like the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Egbesu Boys and Movement for the

Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), etc whose modus operandi includes hostage

taking, kidnapping, oil pipeline vandalism, bunkering, etc agitating for their inclusion in theshare, control and management of resources in the territory (UNDP, 2006; Stewart, 2007)

Torulagha, (2006) argued that the failure of the Government and the oil MNCs to honourthe demands of local communities represented by the State in the Niger Delta which has to dowith their wellbeing exacerbated the crises According to him, the demands were:

1 The restoration of the principle of derivation as the impetus for the allocation of oilrevenue

2 A demand for increase in oil revenue allocation from the current 13% to 25% or50%

3 The elimination of the Petroleum Act, the Land Use Act and the National WaterwaysAct, and other laws which concentrate too much power in the hands of the FederalGovernment and contribute to the unequal distribution of revenue

4 The management of the oil business by the states and not by the Federal Government

5 A true national development plan that is reflective of the national character and notselective development [http://www.unitedijawstates.com/jodel.htm]

As highlighted by Sulaimon (1998) and Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv, 1996)cited in Stawart (2007), Environmental conflicts manifest as political, social, economic,ethnic, religious or territorial conflicts, as well as conflicts over resources or national interests

or any other type of conflict They are traditional conflicts induced by environmentaldegradation Scarcity, resulting from denying or limiting access to renewable naturalresources and from growing environmental degradation is a major cause of conflicts that arisemainly out of the economic and ecological distortions

The energy sector is the only efficient and viable sector of Nigeria's economy Outside of

it other sectors are highly inefficient The agricultural sector that was the mainstay of thenation’s economy prior to her independence is a neglected area Manufacturing is badlyaffected because of poor power supply Human capital is underdeveloped, Nigeria is ranked

151 out of 177 countries in the United Nations Development Index in 2004 and non energyrelated infrastructure is inadequate, (Americanessays.com; UNDP Report, 2004) Povertylevel and unemployment in the Niger Delta region grow higher and unabated (Eteng, 1998;Gbadegesin, 1998; Manby, 1999b; Owolabi &Okwechime, 2007) The people cannot feelsecure in the midst of poverty and glaring deprivation

The Niger Delta region suffer from various environmental problems ranging from oilspillage, loss of mangrove forests, depletion of fish population, water hyacinth invasion togas flaring (Wikipedia.com) Anyim., Ikemefuna & Ekwoaba (2012:1) contend further thatthe Niger Delta “is increasingly threatened by acute environmental degradation anddeteriorating socio-economic conditions and conflict ineffectively addressed by state’s

national policies and actions” More so, Babagana, et al (2012:95), maintain that “the

environmental damage’ in the Niger Delta ‘has in turn resulted in waste of arable land as well

as economic crops and trees Since much of the damage is inevitable if the natural resourcesmust be developed, both the government and the natural resource industry must be involved

in taking precautionary and remedial measures that can minimize the ill-effects of naturalresources exploitation” Globalsecurity.org (2006) cited in Adekoya (2010:1) reports that:

sustained exploration and production activities in the Nigerdelta without well conceived strategic and/or holistic plans formanaging the impacts of these activities in a structuredmanner in the long term, coupled with climate change haveresulted in unplanned and undesirable environmentalconsequences, stiff competition for natural resources andsocial upheavals As a result, the Niger Delta has become an

unstable area of Nigeria where access to oil revenue is thetrigger of violence.

Oil spill and gas flaring are the two most environmentally harmful practices by theMultinational Oil Companies (MNOCs) operating in this region 70% or 2.5 BCF ofAssociated Gas produced in 2001 was flared This flared amount equals 25% of energyconsumption of the United Kingdom and equivalent to 40% of Africa’s total energyconsumption Nigeria loses $2.5 billion yearly to gas flaring While 99% of Associated Gasproduced in Western Europe is either used or re-injected into the ground, Nigeria still flares

76% of Associated Gas, (Anyim, et al., 2012).

Ken Saro-wiwa (1992) quoted in Anyim, et al (2012:2) laments that “an ecological

war which no blood is (apparently) spilled, no bones are (seemingly) broken, no one is(assumedly) maimed; but men, women and children die; flora, fauna and fish perish; air, soiland water are poisoned; and finally, the land and its inhabitants die” is being waged by the oilexploration companies with the Nigerian government as a willing accomplice

Akpomurie & Egbadju, (2010:78) vividly captured the deplorable state of life in theregion According to them,

The riverine parts of the Niger Delta region lacks good roads,good portable water, good health facilities, electricity,housing, educational facilities and employment opportunities

in the area; whereas, the same people are aware that the oilrevenues generated from their area financed the hugeexpenditure on the provision of social and capitalinfrastructural facilities in the 1970s, especially in Lagos,Kaduna, the then capital of Northern region of Nigeria; thenthe construction of Abuja, the federal capital territory, and forpaying huge salaries to politicians in Abuja

The people of the region are very much aware that most urban development in majorcities in this country today, can be traced to the remote villages where oil gush out day andnight and gas flare contaminate the whole landscape This has fuelled continued agitation for

a better share of the revenue accruing to the Nigerian State from the resources mined fromthis region as well as a healthy environment where they can live and conduct their dailybusiness

Summary of Literature Review

Nigeria is a country with enormous gas resources- more than the current quantity ofcrude oil The production capacity of natural gas has been low due to lack of gas gatheringfacilities in the operational base by the explorative multinational companies As a result,greater amount of the natural gas produced with oil (associated gas) were wasted in a processknown as gas flaring which has caused serious environmental degradation as well as healthrelated problems Consequently, living standard in the Niger Delta is one of the worst; theregion is the most backward development-wise while Nigeria continues to contraveneinternational conventions on sustainable environmental practices as she remains the second

on the list of high gas flaring nations in the world This uneconomic practice has contributed

to the looming global warming with its attendant effects to wit: melting of the ice cap in thearctic region; rise in sea level, flooding of coastal lands, desertification, etc

Scholars have argued, and correctly so that environmental policies in the country didnot evolve until late 1980s even though agitation for a cleaner environment and provision ofadequate infrastructure in the Niger Delta region has been on more than two decades backtaking into account the Isaac Boro-led six day war The peaceful protestations from thepeople of the Niger Delta who bear the direct incidence of the negative externalities of the oilindustry yielded no commensurable outcome The military applied force to quell theseprotests and hounded many leaders spearheading these protests Saro-Wiwa and eight otherOgoni environmental activists were summarily executed at the instance of the late GeneralSani Abacha-led military government in 1995 after a kangaroo military tribunal awardedthem death penalty in defiance of international appeals and pressures

The presence of multinational and transnational oil companies in the country, even asfar back as the country’s pre-colonial era, has been implicated in the sustenance of thedestruction of the environment which is an invasion of the environmental rights of the people

of the Niger Delta region Scholars have argued that weak institution of government;corruption, etc have sustained the unhealthy exploitative and explorative activities of the oilcompanies shielded by pro-foreign hydrocarbon policies by the Nigerian government whichobviously are anti-people We went a bit further to situate the problem in proper perspective

We argued that inherited colonial political and economic (capitalist) structures have been atthe root of the weakness noticed in the implementation and enforcement of extantenvironmental policies which have worked in other climes, especially, the west where thesehydrocarbon exploitative companies originate from The Nigerian National Petroleum

Company (NNPC) through its relevant agency along with other government environmentalregulatory and enforcement agencies have not been resolute in the discharge of their statutoryduties Hence, the impunity of the natural resource operators in the Niger Delta has continuedunchecked setting and flouting flare-out deadlines.

resource is oil in his seminal work, the Pattern and Problems of Economic Development in

Rentier States: the Case of Iran (1970) This theory has gained currency and utility in

discussions of natural resource-rich countries especially, oil and gas endowed enclaves of thedeveloping world According to the theory, a Rentier State refers to countries whose majorrevenue source is from outside the country which is the payment made for the exploitation oftheir natural resources like oil and gas In other words, rentier states collect rents from foreigncorporations which have been granted the licence to explore, prospect and exploit thesenatural endowments in return for royalties, rents, etc for a long period of time (Levins, 2013).Mahdavy (1970:428) defined Rentier States as “those countries that receive on a regular basissubstantial amount of external rent” “External rents’ according to him are ‘rentals paid byforeign individuals, concerns or governments to individuals, concerns or governments of agiven country” Key features of rentier states from the writings of rentier state theoristssuggest the existence of the following:

1 Huge public expenditure without taxation of the citizens;

2 An autonomous and independent State that rely heavily on rents from foreign

sources;

3 Luxury of natural resources, especially oil and gas;

4 Selective growth pattern with a backward population and lack of attention to

critical sectors like education and technological growth;

5 Socio-political interference by foreign actors within and outside the state;

6 Heavy investment in security in order to maintain the status quo and quell

dissenting voices;

7 An inherited political structure based on colonial heritage;

8 Widespread human rights abuse;

9 Periodic outburst of political insurgence;

10 Severe social disparities;

11 Dulls innovation and inventive spirit;

12 Buying of loyalty by allocating resources to dissidents (Mahdavy, 1970; Kuru, 2002;Jenkins, Meyer, Costello & Aly, 2008; Omeje, 2007 cited in Ezirim, 2012)

Application of the Rentier State Theory

The features of a rentier state aptly capture the Nigerian situation Since the 1970s oiland recently, gas have seen the emergence of an overly strong Nigerian state supervised bythe military and heavily dependent on rents from oil to embark on public expenditureswithout recourse to the citizen for tax payment Intricately connected to this is the state’s lack

of accountability to the Nigerian people because its spending does not come from them.Consequently, the Nigerian citizens do not place demand on the state to account for its huge

spending because it has no stake in the state, taxwise The state wields excessive power and

subordinates the society to its control To benefit from state largesse, one has to show loyalty

Furthermore, efforts are geared towards maximizing the rent collection to thedetriment of other segments of the national economy This can be seen from the decline in theagricultural sector and the collapse of the manufacturing sector because of the enormousresources from the oil sector However, the state responds favourably to the oil and gas

operators with policies that have loopholes that these operators can exploit or strong policiesthat would not be enforced The state will do everything possible including destroying thelivelihood of the people to keep the oil companies in operation and the rents coming in to thecoffers of the state This has been witnessed in the Nigerian situation over and over again In

1995, the agitation of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmentalist led to his execution along witheight others at the instance of the State in order to placate the oil company, Shell operating inOgoni land The government has sided with oil companies when there is oil spillage bysupporting and confirming the allegations of sabotage put forward by these oil companies inorder to avoid cleaning up the spill and paying for damages to the environment The weakand total absence of implementation of environmental legislations by the state through theDirectorate of Petroleum Resources, a state apparatus against the environmentally harmfulpractices in the oil industry is a strong indictment on the state

The environmental policies in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, going by this theoreticalexplication, have been influenced by the Multinational Oil Companies over the past fiftyyears when commercial exploration and production of petroleum began in the Niger Delta.The failure of the Nigerian state to apply extant sanctions for breach of legislation reveals thevalidity of the argument of the Rentier State theory exponents and makes the theory veryappropriate for this study Flare out deadlines is flouted by oil and gas producingmultinational companies in Nigeria It is regrettable that they even fail to live up to flare outdate they fix for themselves All this reflect the nature of romance between the Nigerian Stateand oil companies which is correctly captured by the rentier state theory The regime inpower notwithstanding, there has always been a mutual understanding and romance betweenthese two partners in despoliation The undemocratic nature of the military was not a barrier

to this alliance They have worked so cordially and this dangerous trend has continued till thispresent civilian dispensation Opposition is weak and where the state notices a threat to itsrevenue source as a result of militancy in the Niger Delta in recent times, it hurriedlyestablished the Amnesty programme in 2009 The Amnesty Programme was primarily tocheckmate the violence and restive activities of the youth militia groups in the Niger Deltawho were poised for a showdown with the state over the backwardness of the region in spitethe huge revenue the Nigeria state realizes from that region Incessant insecurity challengesand the near total collapse of law and order in the region made some oil companies to pull out

of their operational base To forestall this probable loss of revenue, the state inaugurated theAmnesty Programme