Oil Spill in Nigeria

The major cause of disaster in Nigeria has been oil spills in the Niger Delta region, where over 99% of petroleum products, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, are produced. The spills are due not only to rupture of pipelines from ageing and mechanical malfunction, but also to ill will. This plays a significant role: vandalism or sabotage by ethnic militants, and tapping of crude oil from the pipelines by jobless youngsters who sell the fuel on the black market in an attempt to earn a living. To tap the oil, pipelines are deliberately broken open, causing permanent leakage.

Spatial Problem
Oil spill is a spatial problem, so space-based technologies are capable of providing accurate, reliable and up-to-date geo-spatial information vital in pre-disaster phases of hazard assessment, risk mapping, risk and vulnerability assessment, and forecasting of oil-spill disasters. Geo-information is also essential in the design of community-based preparedness programmes. Satellite images have proven very useful in monitoring the gravity of disaster damage and its extent in the immediate aftermath. In post-disaster management, geo-spatial information on buildings, population, infrastructure and ecology - collected in pre-disaster phases - are combined with information on disaster-affected zones derived from satellite imagery and ground-based surveys in order to estimate damage and provide input for rehabilitation and reconstruction planning.

Oil Fire
One of the major oil-pipeline fire disasters in the Niger Delta took place in Idjerhe, costing several lives and destroying property worth millions of dollars. In the study of post-disaster assessment of this incident, commissioned by Pipeline and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and led by Dr J.O Ehiorobo, GNSS receivers in combination with electric fire-stations were used to acquire location information of area and vegetation boundaries and soil, water and control sampling points. Additional information was also collected, including roads, historical sites, rivers, settlements, the oil-transport pipeline and other details. Satellite imagery of the oil-spill site was used in severity rating. Location data and attributes provided by a variety of professionals were stored, managed and queried in a GIS database management system which thus contained all necessary information about the spill site, including location of all sampling points and their attributes. The information provided is designed to assist in disaster management preparedness, to determine causes and effects and develop an early warning system against future occurrences.