MANAGEMENT OF OIL SPILL DISPERSAL ALONG THE NIGERIAN COASTAL AREAS 
O.T. Badejo* and P.C. Nwilo 
Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics, University of Lagos, Lagos-Nigeria. 
Email: shegunbadejo@yahoo.com 
penwilo(@yahoo.com 
KEY WORDS: Management, Pollution, Hazards, Coast, Ecosystem 
ABSTRACT: 
Nigeria, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, has a coastline of approximately 853km facing the Atlantic Ocean. This coastline lies 
between latitude 4° 10" to 6° 20” N and longitude 2° 45° to 8° 35° E. The Nigerian coast is composed of four distinct geomorphology units 
namely the Barrier-Lagoon Complex; the Mud Coast; the Arcuate Niger Delta and the Strand Coast. 90-95% of export revenues in 
Nigeria is from the oil sector. Nigeria's oil reserves are about 31.5 billion barrels, while Nigeria's crude oil production averaged 2.118 
million barrels per day in 2002. 
Oil spillage is a major environmental problem in Nigeria. Between 1976 and 1996 Nigeria recorded a total of 4835 oil spill incidents, 
which resulted in a loss of 1,896,960 barrels of oil to the environment. In 1998, 40,000 barrels of oil from Mobil platform off the Akwa 
Ibom coast were spilt into the environment causing severe damage to the coastal environment. Oil spillage has led to very serious 
pollution and destruction of flora, fauna and resort centers, pollution of drinkable water, destruction of properties and lives along the 
Nigerian coast. Oil spillage has also caused regional crisis in the Niger Delta. Factors responsible for oil spillage in the zone are; 
corrosion of oil pipes and tanks, sabotage, port operations and inadequate care in oil production operations and engineering drills. 
Waves, wind drift current, tidal current, ocean currents, bathymetry, vegetation and topography influence oil spill dispersal along the 
Nigerian coastal waters. Oil spill dispersal can be managed by using oil spill trajectory and fate models, oil booms and mops, surfactant 
chemicals, oil skimmers, absorbents and gels. The oil producing companies in Nigeria formed in 1981 the Clean Nigeria Association 
(C.N.A.) as a contingency plan towards managing major oil spill incidents along the Nigerian coast. Government parastatals like 
Department of Petroleum Resources, Federal Ministry of Transport and Federal Inland Waterways, and non-governmental agencies like 
the multinationals are stakeholders in the management of oil spillages in the country. 
Payment of compensations to spill impacted communities is part of the government's drive in enforcing environmental regulations. Oil 
pollution in our coastal environment would be managed effectively if our government could set up regional spill response centers along 
our coastline. The use of area photographs and satellite imageries possibly from the newly launched Nigeria Sat- 1 would go a long way 
in managing oil spill incidents in the country. 
1.0 INTRODUCTION Nigeria's economy is heavily dependent on the oil sector, which 
accounts for 90-95% of export revenues. Estimates of Nigeria's 
1.1 Nigerian Coastal Areas estimated proven oil reserves range from 24 billion (Oil and Gas 
Nigeria has a coastline of approximately 853km facing the Atlantic 
Ocean. This coastline lies between latitude 4? 10* to 6? 20"N and 
longitude 2° 45° to 8° 35° E. The terrestrial portion of this zone is 
about 28,000 km” in area, while the surface area of the continental 
shelf is 46,300km”. The coastal area is low lying with heights of not 
more than 3.0 m above sea level and is generally covered by fresh 
water swamp, mangrove swamp, lagoonal mashes, tidal channels, 
beach ridges and sand bars (Dublin- Green et al, 1997). 
The Nigerian coast in composed of four distinct 
geomorphological units namely the Barrier-Lagoon complex; the 
Mud coast; the Arcuate Niger delta; and the Strand coast (Ibe 
1988). The vegetation of the Nigerian coastal area is also 
characterised by mangrove forests, brackish swamp forests and 
rain forests. The Nigerian coastal zone experiences a tropical 
climate consisting of rainy season (April to November) and dry 
season (December to March). 
Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil exporters. Nigeria is a 
major oil supplier to Western Europe and was the 5" largest 
supplier of crude oil to the United States in 2002 (EIA, 2003). 
Journal) to 31.5 billion barrels (OPEC). The majority of these 
reserves are found in relatively simple geological structures along 
the country's coastal Niger River Delta, but newer reserves have 
been discovered in deeper waters offshore Nigeria. The majority 
of the oil lies in about 250 small (i.e., less than 50 million barrels 
each) fields. At least 200 other fields are known to exist and 
contain undisclosed reserves. Nigeria's crude oil reserves have 
gravities ranging from 21° API to 45° API. Nigeria's main export 
crude blends are Bonny Light (37° API) and Forcados (31° API). 
Approximately 65% of Nigerian crude oil production is light (35° 
API or higher) and sweet (low sulfur content). Nigerian crude oil 
production averaged 2.118 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2002. 
Nigeria has the potential to increase its crude oil production 
significantly in the next few years as recent discoveries come on 
stream. 
Nigeria has more than 182 tcf of recoverable gas reserves, which 
are expected to last for 450 years The quantity of gas reserves in 
the country is twice as much as Nigeria's considerable crude oil 
reserves. However, only 23 tcf, or 12 96 of the gas reserves, is so 
far being exploited. The nation has as estimated and additional 
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