A university teacher at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Dr. Hyginus Oku has proposed the  setting up of modular refining centres for perpetrators of illegal refineries in order to be able to put their activities under check.
Dr. Oku, a remediation and environmental expert, who gave the advice recently in an exclusive interview with newsmen, said this became the last resort considering factors that enhance activities that lead to the emission of the black soot.
According to him, “the serious collaboration between security agencies and those involved in the artisanal oil refining activities makes it difficult to clamp down on them”.
Consequently, he explained, rather than destroying the illegal refining structures, which will only aggravate the emission of the black soot into the atmosphere, and called on  state and federal governments should identify and organize perpetrators of illegal refining activities.
Put them into cooperatives and set up modular refining centres for them”.
Oku, who is also the Head of Department of Geography and Environmental studies at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, explained that such modular refineries with capacity for 5,000 to 20,000 barrels per day,” would make for training of these youths, which would in turn lead to human capital development”.
In order for this to succeed, he called on host communities, youths state government and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to collaborate against illegal refining of crude petroleum and other practices that pollute the air.
“Bunkering activities on the high sea and creeks”, he explained, “is the major source of black soot which emanate from unburnt hydro carbon from offshore with the wind carrying it inland or onshore.
“The particle pollution”, he continued, “has been in the air for the past fire years. The closure of the Soku facility where condensate was stolen and sold illegally  by youths of the zone brought in its wake to the artisan refineries by the same group of youths to sustain the product flow and market size already acquired”.