Collaboration with Relevant Stakeholders
NOSDRA is co-operating with the Federal Ministry of Transportation
to implement the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) and the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention on Marine Pollution
especially in the area of tanker accidents. The Agency has a standing
agreement with relevant Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies
for their prompt support in cases of Tier 3 oil spill response as
well as surveillance.
Working agreements are being explored with international organizations
such as International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation
Association (IPIECA), Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) etc as a formidable
base in combating major spill incidents in Nigeria and its territorial
waters.
Oil Spill Compensation
NOSDRA co-ordinated the work of the defunct Oil Spill Compensation
Committee set up to enrich the Bills on Response, Compensation and
Liability for Environmental Damage (RECLED) and Petroleum Products
and Other Oil Related Activities Compensatory Relief Bills presently
in the National Assembly. The aim was to bring up compensation rates
that will be acceptable to all stakeholders. Other members of the
Committee included representatives of the nine (9) Oil Producing States,
Oil Producers’ Trade Section (OPTS), Department of Petroleum
Resources (DPR), Ministry of Justice, Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), and Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC).
The Sub-technical Committee in collaboration with Oil Producers Trade
Section of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OPTS) are collating
inputs from relevant stakeholders in the oil producing areas to enable
the determination of acceptable compensation rates for Nigeria.
In view of its mandate on oil spill management as well as enforcement
of environmental legislations in the petroleum sector, the Agency
is forging ahead by appointing Consultants to prepare National Compensation
Rates for oil impacted environments in Nigeria. This will form part
of the tools that will operationalise the Response, Compensation and
Liability for Environmental Damage Bill (RECLED) when it becomes an
Act in Nigeria.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The Federal Government of Nigeria in a bid to clean-up oil impacted
sites in Ogoniland as part of its efforts to bring peace among Ogoni
people and between the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)
and Ogoni people through a Presidential Peace Initiative and Reconciliatory
Process invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in
August, 2006.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) are jointly under-taking a project to
assess the environmental impacts associated with the oil field operations
in Ogoniland. The objective of the project is to conduct a comprehensive
environmental assessment covering all possible areas of impacts (soil/water
contamination, public health impacts, impacts on agriculture and fisheries).
The project will be executed in a manner to maximize returns to the
Ogoni people by way of generating environmental baseline for better
resource management, capacity building in local administration for
better environmental management and finally improving environmental
awareness in Ogoniland.
The key stakeholders in the Ogoniland clean-up project are the Federal
Government of Nigeria through the National Oil Spill Detection and
Response Agency (NOSDRA), Rivers State Government, Shell Petroleum
Development Company (SPDC) and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP). A Memorandum of Understanding between Federal Ministry of
Environment, Housing and Urban Development (FMEHUD) and UNEP on the
Scope of the project was signed by the former Honourable Minister
of Environment, Housing and Urban Development, Chief (Mrs.) Helen
Esuene, in May, 2007.
Oil for Development Initiative
The Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development
in November, 2006 began consultations with the Norwegian Government
through its Embassy in Abuja. The objective of the Oil for Development
Initiative is to assist developing countries with hydrocarbon potentials
in their effort to benefit from petroleum resources in a way that
generates economic growth and welfare to the population in general,
and is environmentally sustainable. As at 2006, Norway has co-operated
in this regard, with fifteen (15) countries, covering areas such as
legal frameworks, administration and supervision mechanisms, licensing
and tendering processes, local content and industrial development,
environmental challenges as well as revenue management issues including
taxation and petroleum funds.
Possible elements of the programme of co-operation include, amongst
others:
• The overall legal and institutional set-up for environmental
management of the oil and gas sector, including mandates and division
of responsibilities between the different governmental agencies involved;
• Environmental regulations in the theory and practice as well
as the challenge of implementation of the regulations, and control
and supervision of the oil industry;
• Improving environmental monitoring by building on international
best practice, with a particular focus on offshore environment;
• Facing the challenges of oil spill management, including risk
reduction management, precautionary work related to oil pipelines
(Maintenance, pressure testing, flow metering and monitoring, environmental
monitoring in the vicinity of the pipelines) oil spill containment
strategies, and clean up operations as well as regulation and legislation
related to accidental discharges;
• Supporting the Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and
Urban Development in its responsibility for attaining the 2008 target
of elimination of gas flaring.
Read more about the
Norwegian Oil for Development Initiative
