Author(s)

Oluyemi Ayorinde Akintoye^1*, Abiodun Komomo Eyong², Peter Okpe Agada³, Opaminola Nicholas Digha¹, Okibe James Okibe¹

¹Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
²Department of Public Health, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
³Department of Pharmacy, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria.

Notably, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project is the pioneer Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Nigeria, aimed at both the diversification of the petroleum industry and utilization of the vastly flared natural gas resources of the nation. However, large scale energy projects have been known to generate both positive and/or negative impacts. Environmental Management Plans (EMP) have often been the compendium of information on approved mitigations, which normally include activities that could maximize the benefits of the host communities, and it’s not unusual for the Community Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CDCSR) department of such an organization to be saddled with these contributions. But the activities of Nigeria LNG Ltd.’s CSR department have often been the source of criticism, as well as aspiration for improvement by host communities and other stake holders. This article thus aims to present a comprehensive compendium of NLNG’s CDCSR activities, up to the year 2010, and also highlight the level of satisfaction of the immediate and distant host communities against the level of performance of other donors in the area. Also the arrays of negative socio-economic consequences of the Nigeria LNG Ltd.’s activities were identified based on community perception. The results generally showed that comparatively, NLNG project has made more innovative positive socio-economic and health contributions to its areas of operation than the three tiers of government and other donors (including SPDC and Mobil Producing Nigeria). Surprisingly, agitations against Nigeria LNG Ltd.’s activities have not overshadowed its community development provisions, which have been of major assistance in several communities. There is however a dire need to review several aspects of Nigeria LNG Ltd.’s CDCSR activities, especially in the fulfilment of documented promises, as well as in project conception and community participation, for better completed projects acceptance by indigenous host communities. Conflict management strategies also need to be improved, while the dissatisfaction over benefits in New Finima needs to be urgently addressed.

Socio-Economic Development, Impact, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Limited, Niger Delta Area, Bonny Local Government Area

Akintoye, O. , Eyong, A. , Agada, P. , Digha, O. and Okibe, O. (2016) Socio-Economic Implication of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Project in Bonny Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 63-79. doi: 10.4236/gep.2016.45007.