Onshore Impact of Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Development in the West and Central African Region - UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 33

As far as the region is concerned, crude oil production has been fairly recent. Exploration for oil and gas has been sporadic especially in the recent past when data on petroleum bearing provinces were unavailable. Currently available information suggests that the potential for further oil and gas discoveries in the region is fairly good (Fig. 2 ) with the overwhelming proportion of such areas located in the offshore area. Exploration activity in the region is, therefore, expected to be on the upswing, particularly in the offshore areas as more of the countries in the region seek to develop domestic sources of petroleum. The impact of offshore oil and gas production on the coastal areas is, however, potentially very significant. Petroleum development activities impinge directly on the level of employment, community facilities and coastal and nearshore ecosystems. In the absence of past experience or proven capabilities in planning for such development, the risk of adverse impacts is heightened while potential benefits are not fully realized. In the West Africa region where such experience is fairly limited and capabilities are generally unproven, the need for such planning becomes even more necessary.