SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

The oil industry is beneficial but also detrimental to the inhabitants of the two deltas. The industry provides jobs, electricity and trade. But on the other hand, the industry also causes pollution, degradation of agricultural land and criminality.

The best but most difficult solution is to use renewable sources, such as wind energy, solar power, earth warmth and for example hydrogen gas. But to still provide jobs and trade, another solution is to change the current industry to a more sustainable way with the help of the sustainable development goals.

There are five steps:

Reporting and Regulation Solutions

Big companies like the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association supports industries with guidance in sustainability and how they stack up against other companies. Along with IPIECA there are other companies that have made a forum where workers from the oil and gas industry can anonymously report their resources consumptions. Because of this the industry is being encouraged to move forward in a more sustainable way.

Social and economic sustainability

The industry should provide more health benefits and above average wages to their workers to help lift up the local communities.

Resource efficiency and innovation

The industry should use their resource efficiently so that they can save on extra costs and regulation. The energy that the refineries are using is a lot, this can be done more sustainable. Shell is looking at ways where their refineries can be used on green energy. Another innovation that can be used is Hydraulic Fracturing, this is a technique that involves injecting high-pressure water into a wellbore in order to easily extract more gas and oil. Because the Niger Delta and Volta delta often suffer from floods, a lot of this water can be used for the oil industry. With support from oil and gasmultinationals lots of supply chains are being examined to improve efficiency on methane release.

Innovation

New techniques and efficiency make processes more profitable again. The industry is build on innovation and can lead to new uses for basic products.

Leadership

To do all these innovations and techniques you need leaders who have the budgets and vision to experiment.