Crude oil is one of the significant resources on the planet and it stands for over 41% of the world’s source of energy. Crude oil is without a doubt the most convenient energy resource due to its accessibility and value. Crude oil exploration started around 1908 in Nigeria by the Bitumen Corporations of Germany and they first explored for crude oil in the present day Ondo state in south western Nigeria (Azaiki, 2003). Bitumen Corporations crude oil activities ceased as the First World War commenced in 1914 due to the hostilities between Great Britain and Germany and even worse as Germany lost the war too. After the First and second world wars , crude oil activities halted for the most part until 1953 when shell D`Arcy surfaced under the flags of Great Britain and the Netherlands. Initially, shell D`Arcy commenced crude oil activities in the Eastern region of Nigeria and is one of the biggest oil producing companies today in the Niger Delta though with a different name shell petroleum Development Company of Nigeria …show more content…
According to Ibaba (2001: 25), the development in oil production and export enhanced the Nigerian economy through the benefits from crude oil export and had a total of confirmed 20 billion barrels oil reserve which could be enhanced to 30 billion barrels with more exploration and future development (Ibid). On the other hand, it’s very important to note that with the increase in oil production activities in the Niger Delta haven’t come without its downsides. The downsides have resulted in ecological and environmental run down in the oil host communities and elsewhere in the region, this will be examined now.
IMPACT OF CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION ON ENVIRONMENT ON HOST COMMUNITIES:
Crude oil pollution refers to the release of raw oil wastes with its synergistic substances into the earth and atmosphere in massive quantity that may be too immense for natural process to disperse in a reasonable time and cause major harm to the particular eco- system. Crude oil pollution transpires through two key sources; (A) is through oil spillage and (B) through gas flaring. Gas flaring refers to the process where burning of gas in order to produce crude oil and this procedure has devastating effect due to its effects to the atmosphere (Watts,