ACCESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF OIL SPILL REMEDIATION TECHNIQUE ON GDP OF THE NIGER DELTA.

Abstract

Crude oil is the major source of income to the Nigerian economy, it accounts for about 70% of government revenue and more than 83% of the country's total export earnings. Crude oil spills are frequent events in Nigeria and in the past 50 years, it is estimated that 10–13 million tons of oil have been spilled into the environment and more than 77% of it have not been recovered. The spills are caused by sabotage, oil exploration activities, equipment failure, pipeline corrosion, and tanker accidents. In most cases, simple and cheap remediation methods are employed which do not adequately consider the complexity of the different polluted media. This study reviewed the different remediation technologies for polluted water, soil, and sediment media that are appropriate for the local Nigerian environmental conditions. Both full-scale and pilot-scale case studies were reviewed. Ex- situ trenching and treatment are recommended for groundwater treatment and bio remediation is recommended for contaminated soils. The limitations of the methods/techniques are discussed, and the future technological prospects are highlighted in this review.