The recent accident associated with an illegal refinery site in Egbema/Ohaji area, Imo State in the Niger Delta region has reopened the debate on how to resolve this thorny issue. High youth unemployment, and a desire to get rich quick, no matter how, could be responsible for these activities. Illegal oil refineries in Nigeria thrive on stolen crude oil, and vandalism of oil pipelines and other oil installations. Without a doubt, these illegal oil operations are reprehensible and should not be condoned for a number of reasons. First, it is improper for citizens of this country to destroy oil installations…
Author: Prof Chijioke Nwaozuzu
There is a fundamental interdependence between host countries and the international oil companies (IOCs) in the development of natural resources. The interests of these two parties differ much but mainly converge on resource production-sharing. Two other major stakeholders are the National Oil Companies (NOC’s) and the host communities, and traditionally these two stakeholders’ interests have been subsumed under the host country interests. The fact that oil and gas resources are vested in the Federal Government of Nigeria does not exclude the host communities as major stakeholders. These communities bear the brunt of environmental degradation (acid rain, oil spillage, foul air…
For more than a century, fossil fuels have accounted for a larger proportion of global energy supply sources. However, with increasing global environmental challenges, arising from the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) associated with fossil fuel combustion, there has been a renewed emphasis on low- carbon-intensive and environmentally- friendly energy sources, e.g. natural gas, renewable sources, nuclear, and now hydrogen. Consequently, several technologies are being developed for the production of renewable energy resources as well as natural gas, which are considered low- carbon-emitting sources. New technology for extracting hydrogen from natural gas has been developed. These technologies are also…
