April 2013, Volume 4, No.

2
International Journal of Chemical and Environmental Engineering


Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and
related Energy Industries in Ghana

O-W. Achaw
a,*
, E. Danso-Boateng
b

a
Department of Chemical Engineering ,Kumasi Polytechnic, Kumasi, Ghana
b
Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

*Corresponding AuthorE-mail:owach@hotmail.com

Abstract:
In view of the past experiences with the oil, gas and related energy industries in the West African sub-region, there is increased
apprehension among Ghanaians on how the recent oil find would impact the environment and whether the nation has the requisite
expertise and capacity to manage the oil in an environmentally friendly manner. The apprehension is further heightened by the
generally perceived weak environmental regulatory regime in the country. The study used plant and institutional visits, interviews and
questionnaires to investigate the waste management practices of four major companies in the oil, gas and related energy industries in
Ghana. It sought to find out among others the nature of waste generated by these entities, how the waste they generate are handled, to
what extent their activities impact on the environment, the sort of uses to which the waste are put, and the regulatory regime within
which they operate. The study revealed that the activities of all the companies impacted on water bodies in their catchment area. Only
two (2) out of the four (4) industries studied have comprehensive waste treatment facilities at their plants. The study further revealed
that the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana (EPA-Ghana) has not been able to sanction those companies violating its
regulations. Unless EPA-Ghana and other relevant regulatory bodies rigorously enforce the environmental regulations of the country,
the environment of Ghana will continue suffer degradation as a result of the activities of the oil, gas and related energy industries.

Keywords: Ghana; environment; oil waste; regulatory bodies; waste management; Environmental Protection Agency

1. Introduction
The oil, gas and related energy industries, as a result of
the huge volumes of products they churn out, also
generate significant waste which when not properly
handled are known to cause a lot of damage to the
environment [1-3]. Right from the well head where the
crude oil is produced, through the refinery processes,
down to the final point of utility, potential threats to the
environment exist. At the well head, the degradation of
flora and fauna as a result of movement and activities of
heavy duty equipment is imminent [4]. Flaring of
associated gas releases combustion gases into the
atmosphere; these gases have been established to
contribute to acid rain and climate change. Also, leakages
and spillage of oil as a result of equipment failure can
sometimes lead to catastrophe onto the environment. The
much publicized April 2010 oil spillage in the Gulf of
Mexico by BP Oil Company is a case in point [5]. During
transportation and storage of crude oil and natural gas
similar hazards lurk. The 1985 Exxon Vadez accident
provides an example in this regard. Crude refinery and
natural gas processing activities produce, among others,
huge quantities of oily wastewater, lower molecular
weight hydrocarbons, heavy metals, organic and
inorganic compounds of sulfur, and the oxides of nitrogen
and carbon among others. These waste materials have
adverse implications on the environment when they are
released without treatment. The combustion of natural gas
and oil products to produce energy either for electricity
generation, operation of internal combustion engines, or
for other commercial uses results in the production of
large volumes of combustion gases. These gases
inevitably enter into the environment and contribute to
climate change. More often than not, these materials also
directly affect human health when they come into contact
with the body.
In order to control, manage or eliminate the
environmental hazards associated with the oil, gas and
related energy industries, technology and regulations are
often the preferred instruments of choice. Technology can
help minimize the occurrence of accidents and hence
damage to the environment. For instance, double hulled
ocean going tankers have mitigated the high incidence of
oil spillage into the oceans as a result of collision or
grounding [6]. Technology is also used to foster rapid
response when a threat to the environment is imminent
[7]. When pollution of the environment finally occurs,
technology is often used to restore the environment or
mitigate the impact of pollution on the environment.
Regulatory bodies on the other hand provide guidelines,
monitoring and sanctions regimes that check the industry
Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and related Energy Industries in Ghana

117

and thus encourage, advice or compel players in the
industry to adopt measures and technologies that
minimize or eliminate threat to the environment.
In Ghana, the recent discovery of oil and gas in
commercial quantities has suddenly heightened public
awareness of the potential dangers to the environment that
the production, processing and utility of oil products can
pose. The recent spillage of toxic drilling mud [8] into the
maritime boundaries of Ghana by Kosmos Energy, an oil
exploration company, and earlier ones by Tema Oil
Refinery (a local refinery company) into the Gulf of
Guinea [9] have awakened the nation to what it stands to
lose if care is not taken even as it celebrates its oil find.
The experiences of other oil producing nations in the
West African sub-region, particularly, the Niger delta of
Nigeria, provide useful lessons in this regard [10, 11]. It
is, for instance, estimated that between 1976 and 1996, a
total of 4,835 incidents resulted in the spillage of at least
2.4 million barrels of oil, of which an estimated 1.89
million barrels were lost to the environment in the Niger
Delta of Nigeria alone.

1.1 Objectives
This study used industrial visits, interviews, and
questionnaires to investigate the potential threats to the
environment of the anticipated exploitation of the recent
oil find in Ghana. Specifically, it sought to identify the
specific wastes produced by industries working in the
crude production, crude oil refinery, petroleum and
related products storage, and thermal power plant
facilities that utilize hydrocarbons as the main fuel. It also
sought to study the technologies available at these
industries to treat the crude oil and related products
wastes, the potential uses for the waste as well as the
regulatory regimes within which the industries operate in
Ghana in order to assess the extent of compliance of these
companies. It is anticipated that the results of this study
will inform the development of measures to curb the
potential threat to the environment that will inevitably
accompany the exploitation of crude oil and related
products in commercial quantities in Ghana.

2. Methods and Materials
Only those industries that responded to an invitation to
participate in the exercise were included in the study. The
industries covered included those in crude oil and natural
gas production, crude oil processing, petroleum and
related products storage, and thermal power production.
The national regulatory agencies, namely, the EPA-Ghana
and the Factories Inspectorate Department of the Ministry
of Employment and Social Welfare, Ghana (FID-Ghana)
were also included. The study employed industrial and
institutional visits, interviews, questionnaires, and
desktop studies for the investigation. Planned visits to the
plants were also undertaken during which a walkthrough
of the facilities were carried out with guidance from
technical personnel. During the visits, observations were
made of equipment, waste generation and handling, and
the general operations and organization of the plants. Unit
managers of the plants and departmental officers were
interviewed wherever necessary. Lastly, literature on
environmental and waste management in the crude oil
exploitation and related industries and the legislative
regime regarding environmental practices in the Ghana
were also reviewed. The results of the study were
qualitatively analyzed.

3. Results and Discussions
The list of companies and institutions that participated in
the study is shown in Table 1. The choice of plants and
institutions was dictated by the extent of their presence in
Ghana, but also so that a holistic view of the industry with
regard to the impact on the environment would be
achieved. The crude oil production company operates an
offshore facility in Ghana and its main product is crude
oil. The refinery company operates a complex facility that
includes a crude distillation unit, a residual catalytic
cracking unit, a Merox unit, a sulfur production facility,
an array of waste treatment units, and storage depots for
crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and refinery products.
The thermal power plant produces electricity from

Table 1. Relevant companies and institutions studied












hydrocarbons (petroleum and natural gas). Its facilities
include combustors, gas and steam turbines, generators,
process water treatment units and an array of waste
treatment entities. All petroleum and related products
storage facilities in Ghana are currently owned and
operated by the government. Nationwide, eight such
facilities exist whose main functions are the reception and
storage of petroleum products and distribution of same to
retailers scattered across the country. They also stock and
oversee the strategic oil reserves of the country. Also, on
Table 1 are the environmental regulatory bodies in the
country. EPA-Ghana is the main regulatory body which
by an Act of the Parliament of Ghana is mandated to
among others, monitor and enforce environmental
regulations in the country. Others bodies who play a
complementary role, especially, where environmental and
waste management in the crude oil and related industries
is concerned are the Ghana National Petroleum Company,
the Ministry responsible for shipping, and the FID-Ghana.
EPA-Ghana and FID-Ghana were included in the study.
Company/I
nstitution
Number in
Ghana
Number Visited/
Interviewed
Percentage
Coverage
(%)

Crude Oil
Production
2 1 50
Crude
Processing
1 1 100
Bulk Oil
Storage
8 1 12.5
Thermal
Power Plant
4 1 25
Monitoring
Agencies
4 2 50

Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and related Energy Industries in Ghana

118


3.1 Waste generated by the companies
All the companies studied generated waste as shown in
Table 2. The types of waste generated by these companies
include solids, liquid effluents and gaseous emissions.
The crude processing company generated the widest array
of waste followed by the thermal power plant.
Understandably, the bulk oil storage company generated
the least amount of waste as its activities do not
necessitate the processing or conversion of materials. The
core of oil waste from this industry stemmed mostly from
leakages and occasional spillage that occur during the
discharge and loading of crude oil products. Each type of
waste generated by the industries has the potential to
impact negatively on the environment if not treated before
disposal into the environment. The potential effects of the
waste generated by the industries studied on the
environment are summarized in Table 3. The effects of
these waste are numerous and varied. Some have very
serious consequences on the environment if not checked.
Gaseous emissions like carbon dioxide and methane (off-
gas) have serious implications on climate change [12],
while others like sulfur dioxide and the oxides of nitrogen
are known to cause acid rain [13] which affects forest
cover. Oily wastewater if not treated before discharge can
affect aquatic life if it enters water bodies, or flora and
fauna if disposed onto the land. On the land the oil can
seep into aquifers and thereby adversely affect their use
for domestic purposes. The oil can also stagnate on the
land for years and render it useless for agricultural
purposes. Evaporation of hydrocarbons and other compounds
from leaked or spilled oil pollute the air and can cause
respiratory and other diseases when inhaled [14].

The location of these industries further complicates the
possible effect of the wastes they generate on the
environment. For instance, all the plants in this study are
located close to water bodies and urban centers. Thus, the
effluents from the plants if not properly managed, could
flow into the water bodies and affect aquatic life with
implications to the health and economic life of adjoining
communities. Similarly, gaseous and particulate
emissions from these plants have direct consequences on
the health of the urban population in the catchment areas
of the plants.

3.2 Waste handling by the companies
The manner the companies involved in the study manage
the waste they generate is shown in Table 4. The waste
management approaches can be grouped into three,
namely, waste reuse, direct waste dumping and waste
treatment prior to disposal. Mostly, the solid wastes are
not treated in any of the plants studied. They are either
sold for reuse or dumped to disposal sites. The gases and
liquid effluents however receive some treatment before
disposal in some cases. Wastes that are reused or recycled
are metal scraps, empty drums, treated oil sludge and
recovered oil. While the companies sell the metal scraps

Table 2. Types of wastes generated by companies































































Industry

Waste Generated

Crude
Production

Spent chemical solutions, waste oil, plastics, toxic
drilling mud, empty drums, office and domestic
waste.

Crude
Processing

Process effluents (oily wastewater, sour water,
desalter wastewater, spent amine solution, spent
cuastic), oil free wastewater, metal scraps, spent
catalyst, charcoal bags, drums, oil sludge, sewage,
CO, CO2, H2S, SOx, NOx, NH3, off-gas, office and
domestic waste.

Bulk Oil
Storage
Waste oil, domestic and office waste.


Thermal
Power Plant

NOx, SOx, CO, CO2, particulate matter, oily
wastewater, oil free wastewater, oil-contaminated
solids, oil sludge, empty drums, office and domestic
waste.

Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and related Energy Industries in Ghana

119








































and empty drums to dealers, the recovered oil is either
recycled for use in the plant or sold to secondary users.
For instance, the refinery company recycles recovered oil
to its catalytic cracking unit. On the other hand, the
thermal power plant sells the recovered oil to secondary
users. All other solid wastes are dumped at land filling
sites or collected by municipal waste agencies. The
wastes in this category include office wastes, spent
catalysts, food waste, plastics and charcoal bags.
It is only the crude refinery and the thermal power plants
that were found to treat the process wastes prior to
disposal. The bulk oil storage facility has no waste
treatment facility neither has the crude oil production
company. The bulk oil storage facility in particular
generates relatively little oily waste which is either
collected in waste ponds or allowed to drain off or
washed into a nearby stream. The crude oil production









































company on the other hand collects and ships off its oily
waste, mostly oily mud and production chemicals to
secondary agents for treatment or disposal. Associated
gas generated by the latter company is however flared on
site. All liquid effluents and gaseous emissions except
fugitive emissions receive one kind of treatment or
another prior to disposal in those companies that treat
their wastes. In these companies, elaborate waste
treatments facilities exist to treat liquid and gaseous
waste. Table 4 shows the facilities available for waste
treatment at these plants. These include comprehensive
wastewater treatment plants that deal with both oily and
non-oily wastewater, and some process effluents. The
wastewater treatment unit of the crude oil refinery plant,
for instance, combines physical, chemical and biological
processes. The corresponding facility in the thermal
power plant uses physical and chemical methods to treat
mainly oily wastewater. Other wastewater treatment.


Table 3. Potential effects of wastes generated on the environment

Waste Type Potential Effect

Scraps

Litter the landscape and limit land usage.
Empty drums

Litter the environment and obstruct movement; serves as breeding grounds for mosquitoes; leaks residual
chemicals into environment.

Sludge

Hurts aquatic life and limits surface water usage; destroys flora and fauna on land; renders land unfit for
agricultural use; disrupts economic activities such as fishing and recreation if it occurs in the sea.
Spent catalysts

If not disposed properly become nuisance to land and water bodies; associated heavy metals are poisonous.

Plastics

Litter the landscape, limit land usage and choke drainage systems.

Charcoal bags

Litter the landscape.

Particulate matter

Pollutes the air and causes respiratory diseases.

Office waste

Litters the landscape and limits land usage; could be source of fire.

Food waste

Gives bad odor and serves as breeding ground for microbial agents.
Process effluents

Pollute water bodies, aquifers, and gives bad odor; they can be sources of microbial breeding, pollution of flora
and fauna; renders land unfit for agricultural and domestic use.

Oil free wastewater

Pollutes water bodies and aquifers; are source of microbial growth.
Oily wastewater

Pollutes water bodies, adversely affects flora and fauna; affects land use and human health; disruptive of
economic activities such as agriculture, fishing and recreation.

Off-gas

Causes climate change, pollutes surrounding air, affects human health

H2S

Has very bad odor, pollutes air; is poisonous to human health.

Sour water

Has very bad odor, affects flora and fauna, pollutes water bodies and affects land use.

Sewage

Bad odor and sources of municipal diseases.

NOx/SOx

Has bad odor; causes acid rain and hence adversely affects flora, fauna and land use.

Oil-contaminated solids

Litter the landscape, can be source of fire.

Drilling mud

Pollutes water bodies and land; affects aquatic life and land usage.

Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and related Energy Industries in Ghana

120

















































units in these plants include gravity separators, chemical
ponds, sour water stripping units, and neutralization
sumps among others. Gaseous emission treatments units
in the crude refinery plant include a stripping unit, and a
sulfur recovery unit that treats H
2
S, SO
2
, and NH
3
laden
effluents. Also, a flaring unit exists to combust gaseous
hydrocarbons. In both plants electrostatic particle
separating units are available to separate particulates from
gaseous streams.
The specific waste handling methods in the various plants
studied and the state of these units are listed on Table 5.
All the waste treatment units in the thermal power plant
function and most are in use. Only the incinerator was not
in use at the time of the study and this is because the
company sells its recovered oil instead of incinerating it.
The company therefore had no use for the incinerator as
of the time of the visit. On the other hand most of the
waste treatment plants in the refinery plant are either non-
functioning or only partly functioning. Out of the six
independent waste treatment facilities in the plant three
do not function at all. Only two are fully functioning. The
wastewater treatment plant that treated most of the
process effluents only functions partly. It presupposes that
the company disposes off its effluents and gaseous
emissions without any treatment at all or only partly
treated. Given that the plant is situated in an urban setting
and close to water bodies, this situation has serious
adverse implications for the surface water, surrounding
flora and fauna, and the health of inhabitants in the
surrounding communities.
The specific effects of the wastes generated by these
plants on the environment are shown in Table 6. Wastes
from each of the plants affect water bodies. The oil
production companys activities directly affected the open
sea, and for that matter aquatic life. Additionally, its
operations impacted negatively on fishing activities of the
local community. The bulk storage company leaked oil
into an adjoining stream and a marshy land and thereby
polluting these entities. This situation has on several
occasions elicited complaints from the adjoining
communities. Leaked and spilled oil evaporated and
polluted the surrounding air. Oily wastewater and process
effluents from the crude processing company were
disposed off into a nearby lagoon and treated wastewater
from the thermal power company was disposed off into a
nearby marshy land which drains into a stream that flows
into the sea. Again, both the crude oil refinery and
thermal power companies emitted carbon dioxide and the
oxides of nitrogen and sulfur into the environment.
These gases have been established to contribute to climate
change and acid rain. Besides, spilled or leaked petroleum
products from these plants emitted volatile organic
compounds that polluted the air. Hydrogen sulfide,
ammonia and sulfur dioxide emissions in the crude oil
processing plant polluted the air of the plant and nearby
communities and thereby affected the health of employees
and inhabitants of the communities.

3.3 Compliance with environmental regulations
All the companies studied are aware and apparently
operated according to the EPA-Ghana guidelines. This
means that effluents, emissions, and disposal of wastes
from these plants supposedly meet EPA-Ghana approved
guidelines. Furthermore, the environmental performances
of the companies are evaluated on regular basis by EPA-
Ghana. EPA-Ghana has recently introduced an evaluation
scheme dubbed AKOBEN [15] to check environmental
pollution by industry. The AKOBEN program is an
environmental performance rating and disclosure







Table 4. Waste treatment methods employed by the companies


Waste Types

Treatment Methods

Scraps Sold for reuse

Empty drums

Sold for reuse

Sludge

Landfill, sold for use as fuel or used to
make concrete

Spent catalysts Landfill

Plastics Municipal collection

Charcoal bags Municipal collection

Particulate matter

Electromagnetic separators (EPS)

Office waste

Municipal collection

Food waste

Municipal collection

Process effluents

Multi-stage wastewater treatment
(physical, chemical and/or biotreatment)

Oil free wastewater

pH adjustment followed by disposal

Oily wastewater

Gravity separation or wastewater plant

Off-gas

Flared

H2S

Stripping unit

Sour water

Stripping unit

Spent caustic solution

pH adjustment and discharge in drain

Sewage

Oxidation ponds (stabilization and
degradation by natural processes)

NOx/SOx

Not treated


Oil-contaminated solids


Landfill or municipal waste collection


Drilling chemical mud


Sent to secondary party for handling

Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and related Energy Industries in Ghana

121

Table 5. Observed effects of wastes generated by the plants




























initiative that assesses the environmental performance of
mining and manufacturing companies in the country using
a five-color rating scheme. Every year the results are
disclosed to the public with the objective to strengthen
public awareness and participation in pollution and
environmental issues. The scheme relies on public
ridicule to get companies to engage in good practices. It
was introduced in part to address EPA-Ghanas inability
to strictly enforce its regulations. This weakness has
resulted in a situation where violating companies got



















away with environmental abuses without any sanction.
The weakness stems in part from of a generally weak
regulatory regime in Ghana. Another important factor that
restrains the EPA-Ghana from enforcing its regulations is
economics, specifically, the monopoly enjoyed by some
of the companies in the Ghanaian market. For instance,
the oil processing company is the only one in the country
that processes and supplies crude oil products. Thus, if it
were made to shut down for non-compliance of
environmental regulations, it could lead to a sudden
shortage of certain petroleum products in the country- a
situation which would have serious economic and
political ramifications in the country. Consequently, such
companies are able to flout environmental regulations
with impunity. Indeed, in this study, the crude oil
processing company was found to have flouted the EPA-
Ghana regulations on emissions and effluent discharge
levels, yet it had not been cited by the EPA-Ghana for
violation of its regulations. Thus, in order to make up for
its inability to enforce its rules, EPA-Ghana is seeking to
use public opinion through the AKOBEN disclosure
schemes to bring pressure to bear on the companies to
comply with its regulations. The performance of the
companies investigated in this study, on the basis of a
number of regulatory variables of the EPA-Ghana, is
shown on Table 7. Significantly, none of the companies
had been cited for violation of environmental regulations
by the EPA-Ghana as of the time of the study. However
data from the companies themselves indicated that two of
them had actually violated EPA-Ghana rules on gaseous
emissions and effluent discharge levels. It is noteworthy
in this regard that the refinery company, for instance,
operated its Residual Fluid Catalytic Unit (RFCU), even
though its wastewater treatment unit was not fully
functioning. This meant that process effluents from
























Industries

Waste types

Effect on environment



Crude production

Waste crude oil

Aquatic life of the sea
Affected fishing activities

Spent chemicals

Aquatic life of the sea

Combustion
gases

Climate change, acid rain




Crude refinery

Oily water Affected nearby lagoon

NOx, SOx Acid rain

CO2 Climate change

Spent caustic

Nearby lagoon

Process effluents

Nearby lagoon

Leaked/spilled
oil

Polluted surrounding air

Bulk oil storage

Waste oil

Marshy land/stream

Leaked/spilled
oil

Polluted surrounding air



Thermal plant

Wastewater

Drained into a marshland
and a stream

CO2

Climate change

NOx, SOx

Acid rain

Leaked/spilled
oil

Polluted surrounding air

Table 6. Performance of companies as per some regulatory guidelines


Monitoring Parameter

Industry

Crude Production

Crude Refinery

Bulk Oil Storage Plant

Thermal Power

Standards used

EPA & ISO1400

EPA & Insurance EPA EPA & World Bank

Monitoring Agency

EPA

EPA

EPA

EPA

Frequency of monitoring by EPA

Monthly

Quarterly

Regularly

Regularly

Environmental permit

Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Recent accidents

None

Yes None None

Breach of regulations

Yes

Yes Yes None

Community Complaints

Yes

Yes

Yes

None

Environmental Officer

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Regular Reports to EPA-Ghana

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Environmental Management in the Oil, Gas and related Energy Industries in Ghana

122

the RFCU were only partially treated before discharge
into the environment. Indeed, a condition for the
operation of the RFCU is that the wastewater treatment
plant be functional. Yet, in spite of the quarterly visits by
the EPA-Ghana, the company had not been cited for
violation of the environment as of the time of the study.
Among the companies studied, only one, namely the
refinery plant, had had a major accident that impacted
significantly on the environment. All the companies have
internal personnel in the form of environmental officers
who monitor the internal activities and advised
management on environmental compliance and waste
management related issues. These officers also prepare
and submit regular environmental reports to the EPA-
Ghana and the company management. Records from the
companies showed that the FID-Ghana had not visited
any of the companies as of the time of the study. FID-
Ghana, on the other hand complained that lack of logistics
hindered its ability to deliver on its mandate. This has created a
situation where some companies are violating environmental
regulations without been being brought to book..

4. Conclusion
Waste management practices of the oil, gas and related
energy industries in Ghana were examined in this study.
Results of the study reveal that the operations of all the
companies involved in the study negatively affected the
environment. The activities of the oil production
company, the crude oil refinery company and the
petroleum products storage company have already had
adverse impact on water bodies. Only two of the
companies had facilities in place to treat the waste they
generate. It was observed that only the thermal power
plant managed its operations such that it did not elicit any
complaints from communities in its catchment area. Only
one out of the four (4) companies studied had had a major
oil spillage that had significant adverse effect on
environment. Among the regulatory agencies only the
EPA-Ghana monitored the activities of the companies on
regular basis. The activities of two (2) of the industries
were found to consistently violate the environmental
regulations of Ghana. Therefore, unless the EPA-Ghana
rigorously enforces its environmental regulations the
activities of these industries will continue to degrade the
environment of Ghana.










REFERENCES
[1] F. Aguilera, J. Mendez, E. Pasaro, and B. Laffon, Review on the
effects of exposure to spilled oils on human health, Journal of
Applied Toxicology, 30(4), pp. 291-301, 2010.
[2] [2] E&P Forum/UNEP, Environmental management in oil and
gas exploration and production: An overview of issues and
management approaches, UNEP IE/PAC Technical Report 37 /
E&P Forum Report, vol. 2:72/254, 1997.
[3] [3] K.T. OReilly, R.I. Magaw, and W.G. Rixey, Predicting the
effectof hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-impacted soil on
groundwater, (2001) Retrieved January, 2011, from
www.api.org/ehs/groundwater/upload/14_Bull.pdf.
[4] [4] I.O. Asai, S.I. Jeged, D.A. Jegede, O.K. Ize-Iyamu, and E.B.
Akpasubi, Effects of petroleum exploration and production
operations on the heavy metal groundwater in the Niger Delta,
International Journal of Physical Sciences, 2(10), pp. 271-275,
2007.
[5] [5] S. Bristol, Deepwater horizon MC252 Gulf incident oil
budget, 2010. Retrieved June, 2011, from
http://www.usgs.gov/foia/budget/08-02-2010.
[6] [6] O.T. Gudmestad, Water waves and floating bodies in the
perspective of arctic offshore engineering, In 20th International
Workshop on Water Waves and Floating Bodies, Longyearbyen
Spitsbergen, Norway, 2005.
[7] [7] C.R. Chase, and G. Roberts, Advanced detection technology
for early warning- the key to oil spill prevention, International Oil
Spill Conference, Savannah, Georgia USA, 2008.
[8] [8] Ghana News Agency, Kosmos refuses to pay fine for oil
spill off Ghana, 2010. Retrieved August, 2011, from
www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?I
D=190803.
[9] [9] The Ghanaian Journal, TOR records second oil spillage in a
month, 2008. Retrieved August 2011, from
www.theghanaianjournal.com/2008/02/29/tor-records-second-oil-
spillage-in-a-month.
[10] United Nations Environmental Programme, Environmental
Assessment of Ogoniland, 2011. Retrieved February 2012, from
http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/OEA/UNEP_OEA.pdf.
[11] J. Vidal, Nigeria on alert as Shell announces worst oil spill in a
decade, 2011. Retrieved January 2011, from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/dec/22/nigerian-
shell-oil-spi.
[12] M. Lancaster, Green Chemistry: An Introductory Text. The Royal
Society of Chemistry Publishing, Cambridge: UK, 2002.
[13] C.T. Driscoll, K.M. Driscoll, M.J. Mitchell, and D.J. Raynal,
Effect of acid rain deposition on forest and aquatic ecosystems in
New York State, Environmental Pollution, 123, pp. 327-336,
2003.
[14] H.J. Rudd, and N.A. Hill, Measures to reduce emissions of VOCs
during loading and unloading of ships in the EU. European
Commission - Directorate General Environment
AEAT/ENV/R/0469, p. 2, 2001.
[15] Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana, AKOBEN rating
and disclosure programme, 2010. Retrieved June 2011, from
www.epaghanaakoben.org/.