Bayelsa commission seeks $12bn to remedy drawbacks of oil exploration

Dublin, Ireland -- The Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, has recommended the investment, of at least, $12 billion over a 12-year period, to remedy the disastrous effects of oil and gas exploration on the environment and on the health of the people of the state.

In its report released recently, the

Commission disclosed that for over 60 years, international oil companies and the Federal Government have hurriedly extracted billions of barrels of crude oil from the Niger Delta with scant regard for the consequences and with catastrophic outcome

As a result of the exploratory activities of the oil companies, the commission noted that thousands of oil spills, unrestricted gas flaring, and frequent releases of toxic contaminants have poisoned the air, water and farmlands.

The commission identified the roots of the problem to include a failed regulatory regime; flawed legal framework and weak access to justice; insufficient role played by state governments; lack of international scrutiny.

To this end, the commission made a series of recommendations, including a comprehensive Bayelsa clean up and recovery plan; a Bayelsa recovery fund; a Bayelsa recovery agency; new compensation scheme for those affected; fundamental reform of the regulatory regime and the introduction of a new legal framework and new dispute resolution procedures.

Other recommendations are enshrining an enhanced role for state governments; strengthening the scrutiny of IOC behaviour both internationally and in their home