Oil spillages

This report presents the main findings and recommendations of the IUCN-Niger Delta Panel, regarding the sustainable remediation and rehabilitation of oil spill impacted sites in the Niger Delta. It has been prepared for the Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd of Nigeria (SPDC) and represents the Panel’s first year of work. It therefore focuses on the first two of the four objectives set out for the Panel, namely to ‘develop and provide standards and best practice guidance on remediation and rehabilitation’ and ‘encourage uptake of the guidance by SPDC and others’.

This report is the second in a series that describes IUCN’s work with independent scientific and technical advisory panels. By sharing these Stories of influence, we hope not only to demonstrate the influence that the Niger Delta Panel has had on the remediation of oil spills and biodiversity management in the Niger Delta, but also to illustrate how these intiatives can serve as examples for addressing conservation and development challenges elsewhere in the world – highlighting that collaboration is central to finding long-lasting solutions to today’s pressing challenges.

In 2013, the IUCN Niger Delta Panel published the report Sustainable remediation and rehabilitation of biodiversity and habitats of oil spill sites in the Niger Delta. In this report, it was recognised that the critical step in the sustainable rehabilitation of biodiversity and habitats of oil spill sites in the Niger Delta is the prevention and/or quick and efficient clean-up of the oil spill in the first place. In respect to biodiversity itself, the 2013 report recommended follow-up analyses.

This report is intended as a compendium to describe the tools available for use by industry for response to an oil spill in the Arctic.

This guidance document provides an overview of concepts important for understanding oil spill response planning and implementation for marine and coastal environments; however, much of the information can be applied to land-based operations as well. This guidance discusses the development of oil spill response efforts and identifies the key factors that might be important for reviewing a response system to determine if it is appropriate for the risks it seeks to address. Intended for internal Chevron use only.

This report represents the best available understanding as to what has happened to the environment of Ogoniland – and the corresponding implications for affected populations – over many years of oil industry operations. It provides the government, stakeholders and the international community with invaluable, baseline information on the scale of the challenge and priorities for action in terms of clean-up and remediation.