Prof.

Emmanuel Ukpebor
Environmental Chemist
Course outline
 The Extractive Industry and its Importance

 Profile on Energy Resources in Nigeria

 Crude Oil Production Processes

 Interfaces between the Environment and Oil and Gas

Industry: Problems and Challenges.
Outline contd
 Produced Water, Composition, Impacts and Disposal
Methods
 Gas flaring, Global Warming and Climate Change
 Oil and Gas National Environmental Policies, Laws
and Standards
 Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment
 Environmental Audit
 Field Work on EIA
Extractive industry
 is that industry whose operations involve the harvest
of resources such as metals, minerals, aggregates and
other items from the earth. Examples include oil and
gas drilling, mining, dredging, fishing, lumbering,
hunting and quarrying.
 Importance of the extractive
industry
 Promote growth and development in any given economy
 Help in the education and health systems and other
forms of human and social capital
 Growth and development through enhanced revenue
derived from export earnings
 Job creation
 Knowledge, skill and technology transfer
 Provision of infrastructure and social services.
Nigeria Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiatives (NEITI).
 NEITI represents a national domestication of the
global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI). Its mission is to cultivate a culture of
transparency, accountability, due process and zero –
tolerance for corruption in Nigeria’s extractive
industries, for the benefit of the citizenry.
Profile on Energy Resources in
Nigeria.
 Nigeria holds great potential energy resources (renewable
and non-renewable). The level of utilization of these
resources is below expectation. However, in the course of
the utilization of these resources, the environment is
compromised. This course presents strategies on the
sustainable utilization of these resources. These energy
resources include;
Contd……..
 Crude oil

 Natural gas

 Coal

 Solar

 Hydro

 Wind

 Nuclear.
Crude Oil Production Processes.
 Extraction from Underground Reservoir

 Processing to purify the extracted crude

 Conversion to finished products.

Extraction
 is the process by which usable petroleum is drawn out
from beneath the earth’s surface location. Extracting
crude oil normally starts with drilling wells into an
underground reservoir. The drilling process is
facilitated by the addition of drilling fluid (mud) and
sometimes injection water to increase oil production
from the formations.
Drilling Fluid Additives.

 Barite

 Bentonite

 Defoamers

 Emulsifiers

 Filtration control additives

 Flocculants

 Gelling agents

 Lubricants.
Figure: Rig on a well
Processing
 Typical Production fluids are a mixture of Oil, Gas and
Produced Water. The crude oil is transported from the
production wells through pipes to Flow Stations for
further processing. Crude oil flow station is a processing
facility where water, gas and other impurities are
separated from crude oil before it is moved over distances
through pipelines, pumping stations or into export
terminals. Gas Flaring also occurs in the flow station.
Figure: Flow station
Petroleum Refining
 Oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial
process plant where crude oil is transformed and
refined into more useful products such as petroleum
naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating
oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel and fuel
oils


Figure: Oil Refinery

Interfaces between the Environment and
the Oil and Gas Industry: Problems and
Challenges
 Produced Water is a term used in the oil industry to
describe water that is produced as a by-product along
with the oil and gas. Oil and gas reservoirs often have
water as well as hydrocarbons, sometimes in a zone
that lies under the hydrocarbons and sometimes in the
same zone with the oil and gas.
Chemical Composition of Produced
Water
Produced water is a complex mixture of dissolved and particulate organic and

inorganic chemicals. These chemicals include;

 Water- soluble low molecular weight organic acids

 Monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX)

 Total Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and higher molecular weight

alkyl phenols- the main toxicant in produced water

 The heavy metals and those most frequently present at elevated

concentrations include barium, iron, manganese, mercury and zinc.

Impacts of Produced Water
 Alkyl phenols and PAHs from produced water accumulates in marine organisms
such as Cod and blue mussel

 Naphthenic acids and PAHs may disturb reproductive functions of both humans
and lower animals

 PAHs are known potent carcinogens, they may cause DNA damage, cardiac function
defects, fish growth may be affected

 Alkyl phenols have been documented to have hormone-disrupting effects

 Effect of heavy metals on liver, kidney and the central nervous system.
Treatment of Produced water
The treatment of produced water will differ
according to the intended disposal method or
reuse purpose. The best treatment option is
treatment for reuse as water supply for towns,
agriculture and industry. Commonly used
treatment techniques are;
 Filtration
 Cyclonic separation
 Flotation
 Evaporation.
Available Options for Disposal
 Most onshore produced water is re-injected to
underground formations after treatment to acceptable
standards

 Most offshore produced water is disposed or discharge

to the ocean following treatment

 Reuse for irrigation or as industrial process water

Heavy Metals
 Heavy metals are metals that have a density of greater
than 5 gcm-3 and an atomic number greater than 20,
and occur naturally in rocks and soils, but
concentrations are frequently elevated as a result of
pollution.
Impacts of Heavy Metals
 Most heavy metals have a tremendous affinity for sulphur and
disrupt enzyme function by forming bonds with sulphur group
in enzymes.
 Protein Carboxylic acid (-COOH) and amino (-NH2) groups are
also chemically bound by heavy metals.
 The effects of acute Cd poisoning in humans are very serious.
Among them are high blood pressure, kidney damage,
destruction of testicular tissue and destruction of red blood
cells.
 Acute Pb poisoning in humans causes severe
dysfunction in the kidneys, reproduction system,
liver, brain and central nervous system. Sickness or
death results ultimately. Pb is referred to as a
cumulative poison.

 Among the toxicological effects of Hg are

neurological damage, including irritability, paralysis,
blindness or insanity and birth defects.
GAS FLARING.
 Gas is flared into the atmosphere, it is therefore
essential to understand the atmosphere, its
stratification and composition.
Atmosphere and its Stratification
 The atmosphere can be defined as the relatively thin gaseous
envelope surrounding the planet Earth.
 It is a protective blanket which nurtures life on the earth and
protects it from the hostile environment of the outer space.
 It is the source of CO2 for plant photosynthesis and of oxygen for
respiration.
 The atmosphere serves a vital protective function, absorbing
harmful UV radiation from the sun and stabilising earth’s
temperature.
 Stratification
 The atmosphere is stratified on the basis of the
temperature/density relationships.

 The lowest layer of the atmosphere extending from

sea level to an altitude of 10 to 12km is the
TROPOSPHERE. It is characterized by a generally
homogenous composition of major gases from
constant mixing, decreasing temperature with
increasing altitude (about 15oC to – 56oC).
 Above the troposphere is the STRATOSPHERE in which the
temperature rises to a maximum of about -2 oC with
increasing altitude. This layer extends to about 50km above
the sea level. The stratosphere contains the Ozone Layer
which absorbs the dangerous UV rays from the sun. The
heating effect in the stratosphere is due to the absorption of
UV radiation by ozone.
 Above the stratosphere is the MESOSPHERE with a further
decrease in temperature to about -92 oC at an altitude
around 85km. the decrease in temperature is due to absence
of ozone.
Figure: Major regions of the atmosphere
Atmospheric Composition
 The atmosphere is a mixture of gases.
Two major components;
 Nitrogen, 78.08% (by volume)
 Oxygen, 20.95%
Two minor components;
 Argon, 0.934%
 Carbon dioxide, 0.036%
In addition to Ar, four more noble gases;
 Neon
 Helium
 Krypton
 Xenon
 and trace gases;
 Methane

 Carbon monoxide

 Nitrous oxide

 Sulphur dioxide

 Nitrogen oxides (NOx)

 CFC

 Ozone
Figure: Major and minor constituents of the global atmosphere
Gas Flaring
 Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas that is
associated with crude oil when it is pumped up from
the ground. In petroleum – producing areas (e.g.
Nigeria) where insufficient investment was made in
infrastructure to utilize natural gas, flaring is
employed to dispose of this associated gas
Figure: A flare stack
 Nigeria flares over 76% of its natural gas.

 Nigeria has one of the worst rates of gas flaring in the

world, flaring about 13 million cubic meters of gas
annually.

 In Europe, 99% of associated gas is used or re-injected

into the ground.
Impacts of Gas Flaring
 Health Impact: flaring has a substantial impact on
the health and environment of land owners who live
near a flared well. Some of the pollutants resulting
from incomplete combustion of the associated gas are;
SO2, NOx, Particulates, HC, CO etc.
 High noise levels are also generated from the flare
point. Health effects include cancer, neurological,
reproductive and developmental effects, respiratory
and cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure from
noise, annoyance, hearing loss, sleep disturbance etc.
 Global warming: the process of flaring contributes
directly to global warming by the direct emission of
two main greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) into the
atmosphere. Global warming gives rise to Climate
Change.
 Acidification of soils and rainwater through the
emissions of SO2 and NO2
 Contamination of both surface and ground water by
BTEX
 Increased deforestation

 Corrosion of metal roofs and the defacing of

monuments/buildings.
Global Warming and Climate
Change
 Climate: climate is generally defined as a description
of the average (or typical) behaviour of the
atmosphere. Therefore, climate is the aggregation of
the weather. It is usually expressed in terms of mean
conditions and variances.

 One of the fundamental climate variables is the annual

average surface temperature.
 Other variables of interest include averages of
humidity, wind speed, the frequency and amount of
rainfall and the extent and frequency of floods and
droughts.
 Climate Change: a long – term change in the earth’s
climate or of a region on earth.

 Global Warming: the increase in earth’s average surface

temperature that causes corresponding changes in
climate and that may result from the greenhouse gases.

 The greenhouse gases are CO2, CH4, N2O, H2O, CFC and
O3.

 The greenhouse gases give rise to greenhouse effect that

leads to energy imbalance in the atmosphere, causing
global warming.
Greenhouse Effect
 The greenhouse effect is both a Natural feature of the
earth’s atmosphere and also Anthropogenic.
 Without the natural greenhouse effect, we would not be
here.
 If the earth had no natural greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, its average surface temperature would be
about 255k (-18oC), rather than the comfortable 288k (15oC)
found on earth.
 Global warming is as a result of anthropogenic
greenhouse gases that have increased at a rapid
rate in the last century.

 These gases produce greenhouse effect by

allowing incoming solar radiant energy (UV
radiation) to penetrate to the earth’s surface while
reabsorbing infrared radiation emanating from it.
 Consequently, greenhouse effect may be defined as
effect on the energy balance of the earth’s atmosphere,
due to the differences in the energy received from the
sun as UV and that re-radiated as IR.

 Greenhouse effect gives rise to Global Warming that

leads to Climate Change.
Figure: Schematic diagram of the greenhouse effect
How Global Warming Changes the
Climate
 By increasing the average global surface temperature,
the temperature structure of the atmosphere is altered.

 Increase in atmospheric temperature leads to increases

in precipitation from increased evaporation of water
vapour from the earth surface.
 Increase in precipitation leads to increases in
rainfall and its erratic distribution and pattern.

 Increase in the moisture content of the atmosphere

changes the humidity.

 Increase in global surface temperature alters wind

velocity which can affect the frequency/intensity of
natural disasters like hurricanes etc.
Impact of Climate Change
 More frequent wildfires as currently being
experienced globally.

 Increase in flooding from incessant rainfall and sea

level rise.

 Increase in the number, duration and intensity of

tropical storms.
Floodin g in Nigeria
Figure: Coastal flooding
 More droughts and heat waves which could
compromise human health.
 Some diseases and pests could be more prevalent.

 Agriculture and food supplies could be impacted.

Changing climatic patterns could require changes in
cropping patterns, perhaps bringing benefits to some
regions, while negatively impacting others.
Oil and Gas National Environmental
Policies, Laws and Standards
 Institutions involved in formulating and
implementing environmental policies, strategies, laws
and standards for the oil and gas industry include:

 DPR – Department of Petroleum Resources

 FMEnv – Federal Ministry of Environment

 NOSDRA – National Oil Spill Detection and Response
Agency

 NESREA – National Environmental Standards and

Regulations Enforcement Agency

 Various States Environmental Protection Agency/State

Ministries of Environment.
Principles of the Nigerian National
Policy on Environment
 Nigeria is committed to a national environmental
policy that will ensure sustainable development based
on proper management of the environment. This
demands positive and realistic planning that balances
human needs against the carrying capacity of the
environment
 Environmental concerns are integrated into major
economic decision-making process
 Environmental remediation costs are built into major
development projects
 Economic instruments are employed in the management of
natural resources
 Environmentally friendly technologies are applied
 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is mandatorily
carried out before any major development project is
embarked on.
Environmental Instruments to drive
Environmental Policies and Strategies
Some of these environmental instruments include:

 EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment

 EMP – Environmental Management Plan

 EA – Environmental Audit

 EER – Environmental Evaluation Report

 PIA – Post Impact Assessment

 BLS – Basic Life Support.

The EIA Decree No. 86 of 1992 is the most outstanding of
these instruments. The fundamental goals and
objectives of the EIA Act are:
 To establish before a decision is taken by any person,
authority, corporate body or an incorporated body,
including the Government of the Federation, State or
Local, intending to undertake or authorize the
undertaking of any activity that may likely or to a
significant extent affect the environment or have
environmental effects on those activities, shall first be
taken into account.
 To promote the implementation of appropriate policy in
all Federal lands, States and Local Government Areas,
consistent with all laws through which the goal and
objective in the above paragraph may be realized.

 To encourage the development of procedures for

information exchange, notifications and consultations
between organs and persons, when proposed activities
are likely to have significant environmental effects on
boundary or on the environment of bothering towns and
villages.
Environmental Protection
 Authorisation: What preliminary environmental
authorisations are required before commencing oil and
gas- related activities?
 Ans: The EIA Act requires all project proponents to
prepare an EIA report setting out the activity’s potential
environmental impact and plans for preventing or
mitigating this impact. Reports must be approved by
FMEnv and DPR.
Requirements
 What environmental protection requirements apply
to the operation of oil and gas facilities?

 Ans: Under the Environmental Guidelines and

Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria
(EGASPIN), operators must obtain permits for all
aspects of oil-related effluent discharges from all
point sources (i.e. gaseous, liquid, solid) and oil-
related project development.
 In relation to Gas operations, the Associated Gas Re-
injection Act requires operators to obtain the Minister
of Petroleum’s permission before flaring gas produced
in association with oil.
Breach
 What are the consequences of failure to observe the
relevant environmental regulations and to what extent
can operators be held liable for environmental damage?

 Ans: Any party that fails to comply with the provisions of

the EIA Act is liable on conviction to:

 A fine of N100,000 or five years imprisonment in the case

of an individual and

 A fine of between N50000 and N1000000 in the case of a

corporation.
 Under the NOSDRA Act, a party that fails to report an
oil spillage to the Agency within 24 hours is liable to a
daily penalty of N500, 000. Further failure to clean up
the impacted site can result in a penalty of N1000000.
Polluter Pays Principle
 The polluter pays principle is the commonly
accepted practice that those who produce pollution
should bear the costs of managing it to prevent
damage to human health or the environment.

 The polluter pays principle is part of a set of broader

principles to guide sustainable development
worldwide. This principle underpins most of the
regulations of pollution affecting land, water and air.
Applying the Principle through a Carbon Tax or
Emissions Trading System
 The polluter pays principle can be applied to greenhouse
gas emitters through a so-called Carbon Price. This
imposes a charge on the emission of greenhouse gases
equivalent to the corresponding potential cost caused
through future climate change – thus forcing emitters to
internalise the cost of pollution. In this way, a financial
incentive is created for a factory, for instance, to
minimise its pollution costs by reducing emissions.
 The carbon price can make the polluter pay through two
different policy instruments:
 Price – based mechanism in the form of carbon tax, where the
price of pollution is determined by the rate of the tax for each
tonne of greenhouse gas emitted.
 Quota – based system, often referred to as cap – and - trade, or
emissions trading system. This sets a cap, or limit, or the
maximum level of emissions for a given period of time, and
distributing permits or allowances for each unit of greenhouse
gas among firms that produce emissions. E.g. recommended
price, US $ 40 – 80/t CO2 by 2020 and US $ 50 – 100/t CO2 by
2030.
 Pollution Prevention Pays Principle (3P+): This
encourages the industry to invest positively to
prevent pollution.

 The User Pays Principle (UPP): This is a principle

in which the cost of a resource to a user must include
all the environmental costs associated with its
extraction, transformation and use.
 The Principle of Intergenerational Equity: This
principle requires that the needs of the present generation
are met without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.

 The Principle of Intra-generational Equity: This

principle requires that different groups of people within the
country and within the present generation have the right to
benefit equally from the exploitation of resources and that
they have an equal right to a clean and healthy
environment.