‘There is hope for Ogoniland’

For over 27 years, the people of Ogoni have suffered many years of environmental degradation as a result of oil exploration and production. In this interview, Akindeji-Oladeji, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of OilOff Africa Limited, proposes technology-based solutions in the Ogoni clean-up exercise and other oil producing states, which he says will cut estimated cleanup time of 30years by half and stimulate local economy in the process, excerpts.

The government’s determination to clean-up the degraded Ogoniland and other parts have been in the news for some time now, what do you think of the move?

An absolutely good development – the level of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta and Ogoniland, especially, has gone on for way too long.

Is the move possible; can Ogoni be clean again? Can the oil be cleaned off the soil and can it be restored back to its original state?

Ogoniland can definitely be cleaned up completely.  The appropriate technology must be engaged for the oil spill clean-up exercise.  There are lots of technologies being peddled around, some would cleanup small spills over a course of time – electro kinetic treatment, some would clean-up a specific area over a relative time period – bioremediation, while some would clean-up the area mechanically in record time with non-detect (ND) – mechanical separation and remediation.

Even at that and to get the remediation up to the speed that is agitated for in the Niger Delta, the appropriate technology must be engaged in order to design and achieve the desired result for a total clean-up.  Of course, with the appropriate technology, the soils in Ogoniland will be fully recovered and returned back to its original state, if not better and within an acceptable period of time – as it is possible to improve the soil content during the remediation exercise.        

Which of the notable technologies is the best for the effective clean-up of the place that will not further damage the ecosystem and endanger lives?

The mechanical separation with remediation is the best approach for the Ogoniland oil spill cleanup.  It will provide for a non-detect (ND) clean-up, in which the soil will contain non detection of hydrocarbon.

There are, present in Nigeria, small indirect fired remediation plants that can undertake up to 6 to 15tons/hr.  The plants consume a high amount of energy to fire as the tonnes per hydrocarbon (TPH) of the soils are quite, high in most cases greater than 30TPH as noted in the UNEP report.

This means that it will take a long time and high energy provisions to achieve the cleanup of Ogoniland using such plants.  The appropriate plant for the project is a mechanical separation plant which would provide a dual advantage – reduce the hydrocarbon content of the soil by reducing the quantity of hydrocarbon in the soils to less than 6% and utilize a direct fired plant which will consume less energy and can undertake up to 100tons/hour.  Such plant is not presently available in Nigeria, and we are in the process to bring a system in.   

What are some of the frameworks for the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recommendations?

The Federal Government has put together a framework for the implementation of the recommendation of the UNEP report.  The Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) has been created and recently the Programme Coordinator was appointed.  As such, the government has achieved a milestone in the planning for the project implementation.

However, the planning has been slower than expected, but milestones are gradually being achieved, and it is expected that contract for the antecedent works shall consequently be let out.  It is expected that the consulting for the works shall start with the environmental risk quantitative/qualitative assessment which shall be undertaken shortly while the remediation action plan is being concluded and the decommissioning of the sites would consequently be engaged prior to the classified cleanup exercise being undertaken.

Given the severe impact of the devastation from the oil spillage, UNEP report states it would take 30 years to clean up the land, what can be done to speed up the process?

With the implementation of an appropriate technology, we believe that the project work can be concluded between 10 to 15years if not quicker.  It only means that the deployment of resources must be scaled up to achieve the desire of the community and the designed cleanup period.

What informs your company’s bid for the Ogoni clean-up exercise?

We hope to add value to shareholders, oil companies and the people of the affected communities by bringing the latest technology to fast-track the project.  Our company, along with its foreign partners, are bringing the much needed technology to clean the oil economically and equitably.

It is expected that with our engagement, the people of Ogoniland can begin a journey towards economic sustainability, which is something we, at OilOff Africa Ltd, are very passionate about. We are constantly thinking about how to make our business friendly to the ecosystem and make it viable at the same time.  And we are happy that we are part of the journey that will not only change Ogoniland, but the lives of Ogoni people economically, as well as their health and sustenance.

Within a short period of time, Ogoni people would have back their lives, utilising their land for agricultural purposes.  Our technology will totally clean the oil off the soil and restore the soil back to its original position so that they can farm the land.  We will clean the oil from the creeks and waters so that vegetation can grow back there.

If the mandate of cleaning up the place is followed through, what would the successful cleanup mean for the region?

If properly harnessed, there abound several job and business opportunities associated with oil spill clean-up and recovery in the region – Ogoniland will not be an exemption.  The expected clean-up of the degraded Ogoniland, which process was launched by the Federal Government last year is capable of creating more than 2,000 jobs within the first three months.  It is expected that the soils in the area, following a segmented deployment, would witness the restoration of zones for immediate farming within a period of six months of the start-up of the restoration program.  And consequently, the health of the people of the region.

How is creating more than 2,000 jobs within three months possible?

If awarded the contract for the area, we plan to break the affected communities into three to five processing zones, deploying human and technical equipment into the exercise. The interesting part of the exercise is that, because we engage a retinue of trucks and a retinue of equipment, economic activities in the local area is immediately stimulated.

This is because where we have 200 trucks that are bringing materials from a particular area; there is a backward integration of people and resources that will provide food, shelters, diesel, water and a lot of different activities. So, almost immediately, the economy of that particular area kicks off. That is different from the 120 to 150 people that are working within the plants to take care of the process in itself.

The local indigenes would be trained and engaged in welding, as technicians are trained in geophysical testing, and equipment operators are trained in the working of the equipment; people generally in the area who have trucks to move material are able to do that; people that have other equipment like excavators, pay – loaders and other earthmoving equipment are able to lease their equipment and as such the whole location is engaged.

We are able to employ, within a particular area, between 400 and 500 people at a particular point in time. Definitely, over that course of time, we are able to see over 2,000 people that are employed, doing different things.