Legal Regime for the Protection of the Gulf Of Guinea from Oil Pollution
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Date
2020
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Abstract
This chapter deals with the Gulf of Guinea as becoming one of the most promising oil exploration areas in the world. The region is richly endowed with natural resources ranging from oil, gas and diverse minerals. The energy potential of the region is predicted to surpass the total production of the Persian Gulf nations by 2020 with 25% of the global output against 22% of the Persian Gulf. The region has become a very important strategic area for countries such as the United States, the European Union, China and India for the sourcing of crude oil to fuel their economies. Thousands of tankers crisscross the ocean of the region daily carrying massive quantities of oil to distant destinations. The deliberate release of oil by such tankers in the course of routine shipping operations and oil spills caused by tanker accidents, coupled with offshore oil exploration and production activities threaten the marine living resources and ecosystems. In this regard, the Gulf of Guinea and other regions have taken initiatives to tackle this problem of pollution headlong. The chapter further examines the international and regional legal regimes for the protection of the Gulf of Guinea from oil pollution,- furthermore, it assesses the emergence of the hydrocarbons industry in the Gulf of Guinea and effects of oil pollution on the environment. The chapter concluded that until adequate strategies are devised and put in place, the problem of pollution bedeviling the Gulf of Guinea environment will continue to hinder the sustainable exploration and production of oil and gas in the region.