Since 1956, when commercial quantities of mineral oil were
discovered in Oloibiri, in what is now the state of Bayelsa,
Nigeria, crude oil exploration has been conducted in the
petroleum-rich River Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The
region’s ecosystem experiences decreasing ecological
integrity due to environmental deterioration caused by
petroleum exploration activities and related gas flaring.
The evaluation suggests, among other things, explorerresponsibility, cleanup efforts, and the adoption and
enforcement of relevant legislation.