Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Activities in the Niger Delta Region Using Satellite Imagery. (1988 – 2013).

Oil and gas exploration and production has been the mainstay of the Nigerian economy since the first well that discovered oil in Oloibiri in 1956, and It has shaped and driven every aspect of the country’s economic and political decisions for just as long. But with the great merits that comes from exploiting this viable resource comes the pain and suffering of the affected regions whose farmlands, water and vegetation have been left permanently destroyed or unusable. This project aims to quantify or assess the level of damage and change that has occurred between the early years of hydrocarbon exploration in the region and the last couple of years. It will identify areas that are mostly affected as well as areas that have so far not been affected. Due to the gradual focus on inland oil fields, especially by indigenous companies, this could slowly change. The result of this project could shed some light on the current environmental state and ascertain if the damage done by oil companies are overblown by locales and media or if there is some truth to it.

The study area includes parts of Edo, Imo, Delta, Bayelsa, Anambra and Rivers State. These southern states are predominantly oil producing states in various capacities and the most affected.

The biggest challenges i encountered was using the right Landsat version for comparison with the base Landsat 4 image.. Landsat 7 could not be used due to its popular Scan Line error while Landsat 8, which was eventually used, is of a higher radiometric resolution compared to all previous versions. This made direct comparisons impossible hence, the need for some compensation.