Gambia-l, I wonder if The Gambia government has any environmental guidelines and standards in place for the petroleum industry before giving a green light for proposed oil refineries by Global Management Group? The following article is alarming and is some of the reasons why a proper enveronmental assesment is necessary when allowing these oil companies to operate in the Country. Momodou Camara ------------------------------ Government Raises Toxic Waste Alarm This Day (Lagos) July 31, 2002 Mike Oduniyi Lagos says oil companies plan to dump 35,000 metric tonnes The Federal Government yesterday said it had uncovered plans by some oil producing companies to dump about 35,000 metric tonnes of waste in remote locations in the country. Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and Energy, Dr Rilwanu Lukman, who made this known in Lagos yesterday, warned that the government would not tolerate this and urged the companies to adhere strictly to the appropriate process for waste disposal as directed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). Lukman who also launched the revised guidelines on environmental standards for the Nigerian petroleum industry, directed that the more than 134 waste pits, which constituted a great menace in the Niger Delta, should be rehabilitated, restored and closed. "I am aware that there are about 35,000 metric tonnes of drill cuttings stockpiled in abandoned drill locations and plans by some operators to dump same in remote locations," he said. "We must warn that this is unacceptable to government," he added. Lukman, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ms Ama Pepple, directed that the operators should complete the process of shutting down all the waste pits in the next 18 months. He said that a committee had been set up within the DPR, the nation's oil industry monitors, to review and revisedwhere necessary, the enabling laws including those for the control and protection of the environment "with a view to including clauses for the prosecution of defaulters." Lukman said that the government did not only recently wake up to provide for the protection and control of the environment, citing the Petroleum Acts, Laws and Decrees that were put in place since the 1950s and 1960s. "With the tremendous increase in oil and gas activities in Nigeria, and the attendant environmental impact...it became necessary to match the pace of activities in the industry with control measures from the per spective of environmental protection and control," he said. He enjoined oil producers not only to meet the challenges of the emerging environmental control technologies and their attendant concerns, but also to take on the societal issues that had erupted in their areas of operation. Also speaking at the occasion, Director Department of Petroleum Resources, Dr Mac Ofurhie said the launch of the revised edition, though coming six years behind schedule, came at a time "the preservation of the eco-system of the operational areas of the oil and gas industry is considered a high priority on government's agenda." Ofurhie said that the objective of the revised guidelines was to standardise the environmental pollution abatement and monitoring procedures, including the analytical methods of various parameters. "It is to establish guidelines and standards for the environmental quality control of the petroleum industry, taking into account existing local conditions and planned monitoring programmes," said the DPR boss. He called on operators to explore efficient means of conducting their exploration, production, transportation, processing and marketing activities in order to reduce to the barest minimum, the incidence of environmental pollution such as oil spills and other forms of effluent discharges. Industry analysts viewed the new guidelines as government's direct response to increasing agitation and protests by oil producing communities over environmental pollution wrought by oil exploration activities. In the last one month, Chevron Nigeria Limited oil production facilities had been invaded by Ijaw and Itsekiri women to protest among other issues, pollution of their environment. Government issued the first set of environmental guidelines and standards for the petroleum industr y in 1991. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~