Non-parametric Statistical Approach for Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Spillages in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Non-parametric Statistical Approach for Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Spillages in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Non-parametric Statistical Approach for Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Spillages in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria Israel Uzuazor Siloko, Kingsley Eghonghon Ukhurebor, Anthonia Ighiebemhe Otsupius This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5995693/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Petroleum spillages (PTS) have significantly contributed to environmental degradation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region (NDR). This research aims to establish the causes of PTS in the NDR using nonparametric statistical methods for five years. During the five years examined (2019–2023), the recorded number of PTS occurrences was 754 times with 686 cases (90.98%) caused by sabotage and 68 cases (9.02%) due to operational failures. Again, the total PTS recorded during the period is 65,483.27 barrels, and the recovered petroleum resource (PTR) for the five years is 48,262.85 barrels while the unrecovered crude for the period is 17,220.42 barrels. The PTS by sabotage translates to 98.68% while the PTS occasioned by operational failure accounts for only 1.32%. Reportedly, the highest correlation value of 0.999647 and the highest estimated PTS of 24,749.10 barrels with recovered PTS of 22,267.30 barrels were recorded in 2021. Despite recording the highest PTS in 2021, the asymptotic mean integrated squared error (AMISE) shows that 2022 witnessed the toughest environmental conditions for PTS. Therefore, modern pipeline surveillance, community engagement, implementation of legal and economic deterrents for saboteurs, and improvement of infrastructural maintenance to reduce operational failures are recommended steps to reduce sabotage, which is the main cause of PTS in the NDR. Environment Petroleum Resources Spillage Management Strategies Non-parametric Statistics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 28 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 27 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 18 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 12 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5995693","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":445044578,"identity":"ddcf2513-ac83-493f-88ec-ed8b214f6d0e","order_by":0,"name":"Israel Uzuazor Siloko","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Edo State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Israel","middleName":"Uzuazor","lastName":"Siloko","suffix":""},{"id":445044579,"identity":"8fcda5ab-17e2-47f2-80a2-fb025c5528fc","order_by":1,"name":"Kingsley Eghonghon Ukhurebor","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACHgYGZhBtwMDA+ADE5yNFC7MBiM9GihY2CRCDoBaDM4cPvy6ouGO3nb33WOXXHDsZNgbmh49u4NNyti3NesaZZ8k7e86l3Zbdlgx0GJuxcQ4+Led5zIx52w4nG9zIMbstuY0ZqIWHTRq/Fv5vcC3FktvqidBytof5MVCLHUgL48dthwlrkTxzzIyZ58zhBIMzZ4ylGbcd52FjJuAXvjPJjz/zVBy2NzjeY/jx57Zqe3725oeP8WlhgEZHYgOQYOYB8ZnxKwcr+QAk7EEsxh+EVY+CUTAKRsEIBACy6kjD3P2zYwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Edo State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kingsley","middleName":"Eghonghon","lastName":"Ukhurebor","suffix":""},{"id":445044580,"identity":"ff62850a-b05b-4e61-a39c-85a152d83fe7","order_by":2,"name":"Anthonia Ighiebemhe Otsupius","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Edo State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anthonia","middleName":"Ighiebemhe","lastName":"Otsupius","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-10 05:08:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5995693/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5995693/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81695864,"identity":"0f30aa4f-bff0-4aac-8435-86620a30da2e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-30 12:06:23","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1060941,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Revisedmanuscriptwithhighlights.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5995693/v1_covered_6385a747-fafc-43b1-aca2-cce5c5abef45.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Non-parametric Statistical Approach for Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Spillages in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-environment","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Environment](https://www.springer.com/44274/)","snPcode":"44274","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44274/3","title":"Discover Environment","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Environment, Petroleum Resources, Spillage, Management Strategies, Non-parametric, Statistics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5995693/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5995693/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePetroleum spillages (PTS) have significantly contributed to environmental degradation in Nigeria\u0026rsquo;s Niger Delta Region (NDR). This research aims to establish the causes of PTS in the NDR using nonparametric statistical methods for five years. During the five years examined (2019\u0026ndash;2023), the recorded number of PTS occurrences was 754 times with 686 cases (90.98%) caused by sabotage and 68 cases (9.02%) due to operational failures. Again, the total PTS recorded during the period is 65,483.27 barrels, and the recovered petroleum resource (PTR) for the five years is 48,262.85 barrels while the unrecovered crude for the period is 17,220.42 barrels. The PTS by sabotage translates to 98.68% while the PTS occasioned by operational failure accounts for only 1.32%. Reportedly, the highest correlation value of 0.999647 and the highest estimated PTS of 24,749.10 barrels with recovered PTS of 22,267.30 barrels were recorded in 2021. Despite recording the highest PTS in 2021, the asymptotic mean integrated squared error (AMISE) shows that 2022 witnessed the toughest environmental conditions for PTS. Therefore, modern pipeline surveillance, community engagement, implementation of legal and economic deterrents for saboteurs, and improvement of infrastructural maintenance to reduce operational failures are recommended steps to reduce sabotage, which is the main cause of PTS in the NDR.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Non-parametric Statistical Approach for Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Spillages in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-21 20:13:38","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5995693/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-05-05T15:06:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-04-28T12:10:38+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-27T13:22:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"148797817205202614666998049898000353423","date":"2025-04-19T06:20:31+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-04-18T20:03:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"60667827538154021648414315023294364450","date":"2025-04-18T19:34:41+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-04-18T15:05:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-04-18T04:48:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Environment","date":"2025-04-12T09:47:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-environment","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Environment](https://www.springer.com/44274/)","snPcode":"44274","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44274/3","title":"Discover Environment","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bffc1b6a-d2c4-477a-8d6e-915a2eead617","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 21st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-06-09T08:08:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-21 20:13:38","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5995693","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5995693","identity":"rs-5995693","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}