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IN the wake of the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, Nigeria’s environment minister has called for action in his own country, including compensation, after it was revealed that there have been at least 3000 oil spills in the region between 2006 and last month.

Falling short of estimating the volume of oil spilled, John Odey told a delegation of oil company chiefs to work with the authorities to help deal with the issue, Nigeria’s official state news agency reports.

“In the light of this [the oil spills], it is imperative that you adequately review your processes in collaboration with the National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency,” Odey told the delegation.

Throughout the furore surrounding the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, a number of press outlets including the UK’s Guardian newspaper have worked to draw attention to the ongoing parallels in the Niger Delta but the focus has remained on the problems in the US.

Odey noted the compensation fund that had been set up in response to the gulf oil spill that began after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on 20 April killing 11 workers.

“We should explore similar opportunities, we need to take advantage of appropriate global resources and technology to achieve our task in a cooperative manner,” he said.

Oil companies operating in the Niger Delta include Shell and ExxonMobil. Spills have previously been blamed on locals tapping pipelines to take oil and militants fighting for a fairer share of profits from Nigeria’s natural resources who have sabotaged equipment.

Spills are not the only environmental problems that result from being the world’s eighth largest oil exporter. Climate and health problems arise from industry flaring the gas produced alongside oil. At a recent meeting in London, oil and gas experts explained that despite flaring being illegal under Nigerian law, it still happens on a grand scale. Locals breathing in combusted products experience breathing difficulties, and the products themselves contribute to global warming.