Nigeria sets $176 million fine for oil spills
Date: 04-Mar-02
Country: NIGERIA
"From now on should there be an oil tanker spill within our territorial waters, the sum of $176 million is the maximum amount payable as damage," Transport Minister Ojo Maduekwe announced at a news conference.
"This action is taken in our vital national interest to safeguard the nation from oil spillage and pollution," Maduekwe said.
The measure applied to oil tanker owners and oil companies producing Nigeria's two million barrels per day of crude in the creeks of the Niger Delta and offshore, he said.
Oil spills from burst pipelines are common in the Niger Delta but spills from oil tankers are rare. A spokeswoman for the Department of Petroleum Resources which monitors oil spills, said no data was immediately available on the number of oil spills in Nigeria.
Five oil multinationals led by Royal Dutch/Shell are the dominant players in Nigeria, producing oil in joint venture with state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. The other four are ExxonMobil , ChevronTexaco , TotalFinaElf and Agip .