The Environmental Red Flags of Landed Oil and Gas Exploration and

Production Activities- Valentine Ataka*

1.0 Introduction

The Oil and gas industry both onshore and offshore has come to be near

synonymous with environmental disasters and harm1. To avoid or mitigate on some

of the environmental problems associated with the industry on land these are some

of the areas that a host government should look out for:-

2.0 Land Use Interruption

Operational footprints of E&P activities2 may result in significant alteration of land

use. Construction of seismic tracks, well pads, temporary residential quarters,

pipelines, storage facilities, access roads and rigs constitute the footprints.

Depending on the scale, the constructions and installations may cause

displacement of people and wildlife, deforestation and general distortion of

terrestrial landscape3.

This problem described as ‘oil-induced displacement’ is an environmental as it is a

social problem in among other countries, Ecuador (Amazon), Nigeria, Burma

Columbia and Sudan4. It is currently the subject of a protracted petition by the Sani

Isla community in Ecuador who have been displaced by E&P activities in the

Amazon5.

1 Makuch, K.E. and Pereira, R, Environmental and Energy Law, (Oxford, 2012)

2 IFC, ‘Summary of IFC EHS Guidelines- Onshore Oil and Gas’ https://www.estoolkit.com/DisplayResource.aspx?resourceId=479 accessed on 23rd March 2013

3 Bogumil Terminski ‘Oil-Induced Displacement and Resettlement. Social Problem And Human Rights Issue’ (Research Paper, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 2012) http://www.conflictrecovery.org/bin/Bogumil_Terminski-Oil-Induced_Displacement_and_Resettlement_Social_Problem_and_Human_Rights_Issue.pdf accessed 23rd March 2013

4 Ibid

5 The Guardian, Jonathan Watts ‘Petition to Halt Oil Exploration in the Ecuadorian Amazon Gets 1 Million Signatures’ February 6th 2013

* Valentine Ataka is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and an LLM Oil and Gas Law Candidate (RGU). He is also the Executive Director of the African Centre for Rights and Governance. His other works and comments on energy issues can be reached at www.valataka.wordpress.com

Oil Exploration Site near Yasuni National Park, Ecuador6

3.0 Atmospheric and air pollution

O&G operations have the potential of polluting the atmosphere through emission of

effluent gases and operation noise. A study by the Cooperative Institute for

Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) in North-eastern Colorado has recently

noted that

‘oil and natural gas operations are the dominant wintertime source of certain

gasses, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that act as precursors

—‘starting ingredients’—for ozone pollution7

Such gas emissions are known contributors to climate change and may impact

of a country’s commitment to reduction of GHG emissions under international

frameworks such as the UNCFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen Accord and EU

reduction Commitments8.

The noise emanating from O&G activities is also of concern. Such activities are

known to generate noise during seismic surveys, construction activities, drilling,

aerial surveys and air or road transportation.9 Air pollution by O&G operations is 6 Courtesy WWF Global http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/problems/other_threats/oil_and_gas_extraction_amazon/ accessed 22nd March 2013

7J.B Gilma et al ‘Source Signature of Volatile Organic Compounds from Oil and Natural Gas Operations in North-eastern Colorado’ (Environmental science and Technology, 2013) http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es304119a accessed on 12th March 2013

8Godfrey Boyle (ed) , Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future (OUP, 2012)

9Jacqueline Barboza Mariano ‘Environmental Impacts of the Oil Industry’ (EOLSS) http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C08/E6-185-18.pdf accessed 30th March 2013

* Valentine Ataka is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and an LLM Oil and Gas Law Candidate (RGU). He is also the Executive Director of the African Centre for Rights and Governance. His other works and comments on energy issues can be reached at www.valataka.wordpress.com

best illustrated in a video documentary, Poison Fire wherein the local community

give accounts of the devastating environmental consequences of gas flaring in the

Niger Delta.10

4.0 Land and habitat Contamination

The discharge and disposal of wastes from operation installations may harm the

surrounding land and its habitats resulting in degeneration of soil quality, death of

fauna and flora as well as expensive clean-ups11. Examples of these harmful wastes

are listed by the EPA as ‘non-exempt wastes’ include hydraulic fluids, waste

solvents, produced water, fracturing fluids, unused drums etc.12.

The operations may also result in spills from onshore facilities, including pipelines,

due to leaks, equipment failure, accidents, and human error. A case in point is the

July 2010 rupture of the Enbridge pipeline in Michigan said to be the worst on-land

oil spill in the history US. The US National Transportation Board Report indicated

that the spill had contaminated 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River waterway and

exposed 320 people to crude oil13. The Clean-up exercise cost is estimated to have

been more than $800m.

Oil Spills Response Workers cleaning up Kalamazoo River, July 201014

10 Friends of the Earth International, Poison Fire 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bq2TBOHWFRc#! Accessed 20th April 2013

11 E.G Carls, et al, ‘Soil Contamination by Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Operations in Padre Island National Seashore’ Journal of Environmental Management (1995) 45, 273–286 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479785700758 accessed 4th April 2013

12 EPA, Exemption of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Wastes from Federal Harzardous Waste Regulations’ (EAP, 2012) http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/oil/oil-gas.pdf accessed 3rd April 2013 13 Nation Transportation Safety Board ‘Enbridge Incorporated Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Rupture and Release Marshall, Michigan: Accident Report’ (Adopted 10th July 2012)

14 Courtesy of EHS Today http://ehstoday.com/environment/epa-more-work-needed-clean-enbridge-oil-spill-kalamazoo-river

* Valentine Ataka is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and an LLM Oil and Gas Law Candidate (RGU). He is also the Executive Director of the African Centre for Rights and Governance. His other works and comments on energy issues can be reached at www.valataka.wordpress.com

5.0 Conclusion

While measures to ensure that the above environmental risks are avoided or

mitigated are important, it would also be necessary to contemplate the measures

that the IOC needs to take in the event that environmental damage does

occur either due to accident or as a natural consequence of E&P processes15. It

would therefore be necessary to put in place regulations similar to the UK

Environmental Damage (prevention and remediation) regulations 2009 to ensure

that the IOC puts in place environmental damage and is in a position to meet the

liabilities for compensation and remediation in the event that damage does occur.

The expensive costs of restoring environmental damage16 should not be handed

down to the tax payers.

15 Zhiguo Gao, Environmental Regulation of the Oil and Gas Industries (CEPLMP, 1997) p30

16 For instance the Enbridge clean up exercise is said to have cost $800 Million (See above n13)

* Valentine Ataka is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and an LLM Oil and Gas Law Candidate (RGU). He is also the Executive Director of the African Centre for Rights and Governance. His other works and comments on energy issues can be reached at www.valataka.wordpress.com