Engaging Groundwater Resources Policies in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Areas

Petroleum exploration and production activities in Nigeria have not been given the adequate assessment over the past 20 years because of negligence from the government on ensuring that companies should not only pay for the damages caused, but also to embark on regular clean-up exercises on the environment and water resources. Globally, abandoned wells contaminate the soils and groundwater supplies, as in Ogoniland where most of the farmlands are not fertile and the groundwater sources are hazardous to the communities because the petroleum corporations abandoned the oil wells due to threats from the natives. The political and civil unrest from the host communities is a grave factor retarding groundwater management and policies implementation, of which the multi-national petroleum corporations are not putting in place the same groundwater management techniques and policies they do in the developing world. According to the UNEP report on Ogoniland, the contamination poses a serious threat to the ecosystem biodiversity and human health; and the clean-up exercises will take up to 30 years to restore the environment. The major human impacts include land use patterns in which agriculture and fishing are altered; local population levels as a result of migration of people due to increased access and opportunities; cultural heritage and beliefs of the oil and gas host communities on the customary laws guiding the use of the water; variations in water quality and quantity, air quality, sediment quality, and vegetation cover. Assessment of policy protection impacts is usually carried out through environmental assessment, either conducted independently or within the framework of the Water Acts of Nigeria. This paper portrays the need for reducing challenges faced in Nigeria’s groundwater, as a result of lack of environmental planning, stake-holder participation, monitoring and compliance, and non-adherence to safety in decommissioning of oil installations after exploration and production.