The large-scale exploitation of petroleum resources from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has adversely affected the ecological balance of the area and created serious social and economic problems for the local inhabitants. Decades of oil and gas extraction by multinational companies operating in the region has not only resulted in the pollution of the immediate environment, it has also led to the destruction of local sources of livelihoods such as farmlands, fishponds and economic crops.

Between 1976 and 2000 a total of 6,141 environmental accidents recorded from the oil industry in the region resulted in the spillage of approximately 3,019,465.90 barrels of crude oil into the environment. A comparative environmental performance study of three multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta also indicated that between 1991 and 2002, 3,544 cases of environmental pollution were reported, resulting in the spillage of 355,809 barrels of crude oil into the Niger Delta environment. Out of these incidents, production factors were responsible for 41.6%, sabotage/theft accounted for 35% followed by corrosion 19.9%. Other operational factors accounted for 1.7%, engineering related factors accounted for 0.4% and drilling contributed 0.4% of the oil spillages. Gas flaring has also been another environmental challenge associated with the Nigerian oil industry. Cases of acid rain have been reported and available data have shown that gas flaring in the Niger Delta is contributing significantly to global warming and climate change. Between 1997 and 2001 an average of 44% of associated gas produced in the oil fields of the Niger Delta was flared into the atmosphere

This paper examines the social and environmental problems associated with oil and gas extraction in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria as well as the poverty and conflict situation occasioned by the exploration of crude oil in Nigeria. The paper also makes some recommendations concerning how to resolve the various problems currently bedevilling the people of the region.n operators, vectroization, ArcGIS9.1