When oil wells die, the environment must not

Idowu L. Oyeleke

NIGERIA’s oil industry has generated enormous revenue for the country, but it has also left behind a difficult environmental question: what happens when an oil well or petroleum facility reaches the end of its productive life? The answer should not be that the well is simply abandoned and forgotten. Proper decommissioning is an essential part of responsible petroleum production. When an oil well, pipeline, installation or associated facility is no longer economically viable, it must be safely closed, the site properly restored and measures put in place to prevent pollution long after production has stopped. Where this is poorly done, the consequences can extend far beyond the immediate oilfield. Contaminants can enter surrounding soil, groundwater, creeks, rivers and wetlands. In oil-producing communities, where freshwater systems are closely connected to fishing, farming and everyday life, the consequences can be particularly severe. A threat to aquatic life, flora and fauna.

The environmental consequences of poor decommissioning are not merely theoretical. An inadequately plugged or abandoned well can create pathways through which hydrocarbons and other contaminants migrate into the environment. Improperly dismantled infrastructure can leave contaminated materials, pipelines, tanks and equipment behind. Disturbed and polluted land can also affect vegetation and wildlife habitats. Once pollutants reach waterways, the damage can move through the ecosystem. Fish and other aquatic organisms may be exposed to harmful substances. Vegetation along riverbanks and wetlands may be degraded, while contamination of breeding and feeding grounds can affect aquatic populations. The result is a chain of environmental harm: *polluted soil can affect groundwater; groundwater can feed streams and wetlands; waterways can carry contaminants downstream; and those contaminants can eventually reach coastal and marine ecosystems.*

For communities whose livelihoods depend on fishing and agriculture, environmental degradation can therefore become an economic and social crisis as well. There is  an important international-law dimension that Nigeria cannot afford to overlook. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) places significant obligations on states concerning protection of the marine environment. Article 192 provides that states have an obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment. Article 194 requires states to take measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from various sources. Most importantly for the issue of abandoned petroleum infrastructure, Article 207 addresses pollution from land-based sources. It requires states to adopt laws and regulations to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from land-based sources, including pollution that can enter the marine environment through rivers and other pathways.

Article 208 is also relevant where pollution arises from seabed activities under national jurisdiction and from installations and structures associated with those activities. Therefore, where poor decommissioning of petroleum facilities results in pollution that reaches the marine environment, the issue is no longer merely a local environmental-management failure. It can raise questions concerning Nigeria’s obligations under international law. That does not mean that every instance of poor decommissioning automatically constitutes a proven violation of UNCLOS. The facts, source of pollution, environmental pathway, applicable Nigerian law and nature of the resulting harm would have to be established. But the obligations under UNCLOS provide a clear international environmental framework within which Nigeria’s decommissioning practices must be assessed.

READ ALSO: FG commences demarcation of disputed oil, gas wells

Nigeria is not without laws and institutions to address the problem. The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 contains provisions dealing with decommissioning and abandonment. Among other things, the Act provides for decommissioning and abandonment plans and establishes a financial mechanism intended to meet decommissioning costs. It also provides mechanisms for addressing unfulfilled decommissioning obligations. Nigeria subsequently issued the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations 2023, which provide a regulatory framework covering issues such as decommissioning plans, permanent plugging and abandonment of wells, decommissioning of installations, public consultation, post-completion activities and decommissioning funds. The framework has since been updated. The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations 2026 provide that decommissioning and abandonment of upstream petroleum wells, installations, structures, utilities, plants and pipelines on land and offshore are to be conducted in accordance with good international petroleum industry practice.

The Federal Ministry of Environment also identifies monitoring and certification of facility decommissioning and oil-well closure among the functions of its Oil and Gas Division. The challenge, therefore, is not simply the absence of legislation. The real question is enforcement. The danger of treating abandonment as an afterthought. For decades, Nigeria’s petroleum debate has concentrated heavily on exploration, production and revenue. Decommissioning has often received far less public attention.

Indeed, the period after production may be one of the most environmentally sensitive stages in the life of a petroleum asset.

A responsible decommissioning programme should establish, among other things, how wells will be permanently plugged, how contaminated soil and materials will be managed, how infrastructure will be removed or safely retained, how affected ecosystems will be restored, and how the site will be monitored after closure. There must also be transparency about who bears the cost.

The Petroleum Industry Act provides for decommissioning and abandonment funds, including circumstances in which the regulator may access the fund to have outstanding obligations performed where a licensee fails to comply with its decommissioning plan.

This principle is important: the environmental cost of petroleum production should not ultimately be transferred to taxpayers and host communities.

Host communities must not be left behind. There is another dimension that deserves urgent attention: the people who live around these facilities.

Host communities should not learn about the closure of an oil facility only after the operator has left. Meaningful consultation, disclosure of decommissioning plans, environmental monitoring and access to information should be central to the process. Communities should know what is being removed, what is being left behind, what risks remain and who is responsible for remediation.

Where contamination has occurred, affected communities should have accessible mechanisms for reporting pollution and seeking remediation.

Environmental restoration should also be measurable. It is not enough for an operator to declare that a site has been restored. Independent monitoring should determine whether water quality, soil quality, vegetation and ecological conditions have actually recovered to legally and scientifically acceptable standards.

Nigeria cannot continue to measure the success of its petroleum industry only by barrels produced and revenues generated.

The true measure of a responsible petroleum industry must also include what happens after the last barrel has been extracted.

If an oil well is properly decommissioned, it can mark the beginning of environmental recovery. If it is abandoned carelessly, it can become a permanent source of pollution.

Nigeria must enforce its decommissioning laws and regulations, require adequate financial provisioning, strengthen environmental monitoring, involve host communities, ensure transparent reporting of abandoned petroleum assets and hold operators accountable for environmental liabilities.

The country must also ensure that its petroleum policies and practices remain consistent with its international obligations, including its duty under UNCLOS to protect and preserve the marine environment.

Oil may have an end date. Environmental responsibility does not.

When an oil well dies, Nigeria must ensure that the environment does not die with it.

•Dr. Oyeleke is Honourable Commissioner for Special Duties, Oyo State.