The Senate has read for the second time a bill to amend the
National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) Act, providing
stiffer penalties for oil companies involved in both onshore and offshore
spills.

When the bill becomes law, oil spillers will pay as high as
N15bn as removal cost for spills occurring at any onshore facility, while those
occurring offshore will attract a removal cost not less than N5bn.

The bill also stipulates the cost per barrel of oil spilled,
depending on the vessels, facilities and places where the spills occur.

A tank vessel will attract not more than N50,000 penalty per
barrel of oil spilled; the fine for a vessel that is less than 3,000 gross
tonnes will be N100,000 per barrel; 3,000 gross tonne vessel, N150,000 per
barrel; and any other vessel, N250,000 per barrel.

The penalties are contained in four new sections (8, 9, 10
and 11) inserted as amendments in the principal Act.

In addition, Section 8(9) states, “Notwithstanding the
limitations established in section 8(1), all removal costs incurred by the
Federal Government of Nigeria or any state, local government, person or agency
in connection with a spill or substantial threat of a discharge of oil or gas
from any facility or vessel carrying oil or gas cargo from such a facility
shall be borne by the owner or operator of such facility or vessel.”

Presenting the lead debate, last wednesday sponsor of the
bill, Senator Abubakar Saraki, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Environment, said the amendment of the NOSDRA Act of 2006 would strengthen
the institution and regulatory capacity of the agency to proactively manage oil
spill in a much more robust and effective manner.

He said it would also create a specific regime of penalties
and responsibilities for oil spills, while providing a consistent guide and
procedure for assessing and accessing compensation for oil spill and other
civil liabilities.

According to him, an effective legislative framework for oil
spill management needs to go far enough to ensure that apart from remedying the
environment, it can provide enough to ensure deterrent for bad environmental
behaviour.

Saraki said, “Oil spillage is not an oil business, it is an
environmental problem. Oil spill is not a necessary consequence of oil
exploration. It is an irresponsible environmental behaviour. The fact that it
is as a result of oil exploration does not detract from the impact on the
environment.

“Nigeria has lost over 13 million barrels of oil to
preventable spills. This is not the entire story. Rather, it is the story of
millions of Nigerians struggling to make ends meet, whose livelihood is
impacted by what is going on in the affected areas.”

“The story is that of destruction of the right of
communities to live in a safe environment, to live decently and in good health.
The full story is that we have ended up now victims of our own blessing because
the cost on our people is no longer about economics, now it is about lives,” he
added.

Saraki said the bill canvassed a robust penalty regime,
which would encourage environmental responsibility and care, adding that the
overall principle was that the polluter must pay.

“The benefit of this penalty regime is to cause operators to
take more care to avoid spills and take proactive steps to nip in the bud any
impending spill without much ado,”