Delta communities seek alternative to gas flaring policies

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10 July 2011

Delta communities seek alternative to gas flaring policies

Since 1956, when crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State, it had been mixed fortunes for communities in the Niger Delta, who contend with a variety of challenges.

One of such challenges is environmental degradation, which has impacted negatively on the ecosystem and in a way, adversely affected economic activities of the rural dwellers. Despite the efforts of government, oil companies and other stakeholders to redress the depravities in the oil bearing communities, it is still obvious that poverty looms large in the region.

The Rivers State House of Assembly recently organized an international conference in Port Harcourt, as part of measures to address various challenges posed by oil and gas exploration in the region.

The main objective of the conference, according to Tonie Egobueze, secretary to the organizing committee of the summit, was to address “reformation of the industry in relation to the economy of the people of Rivers State,” while also providing a platform for the oil exploration firms to showcase their products and services.