IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 121 
Expressing the sense of Congress that as one of the world’s important 
wetland and coastal marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should be pro-
tected and its recovery and economic development a priority. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2012 
Mr. RUSH (for himself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that as one of the world’s 
important wetland and coastal marine ecosystems, the 
Niger Delta should be protected and its recovery and 
economic development a priority. 
Whereas Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, its largest 
producer of oil and its second largest economy, is a major 
source of United States oil imports and a key ally in the 
region; 
Whereas despite its extensive hydrocarbon resources, which 
account for 80 percent of government revenues, Nigeria 
faces serious social and economic challenges, including 
extreme income inequality and high unemployment rates; 
Whereas Nigeria’s economic growth rate is among the highest 
in Sub-Saharan Africa, but its human development indi-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:00 Apr 30, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
cators remain low, with more than half the population liv-
ing on less than $1 a day; 
Whereas the International Monetary Fund reports that 
progress on Nigerian efforts to meet Millennium Develop-
ment Goals to reduce poverty has been slow; 
Whereas successive governments have pursued ambitious re-
forms since the country’s return to civilian rule and 
through such efforts Nigeria was deemed compliant with 
the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) 
in 2011; 
Whereas Nigeria’s southern Niger Delta region has been the 
backbone of Nigeria’s economy in recent decades, with oil 
and gas extraction there accounting for over 95 percent 
of Nigeria’s export earnings; 
Whereas despite having the largest natural gas reserves in 
Africa, an estimated one-third of Nigerian natural gas is 
burned during oil drilling due to a lack of infrastructure, 
placing the country second in the world, after Russia, in 
gas flaring, according to the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Association; 
Whereas deadlines for oil companies to stop flaring gas at oil 
wells, estimated at roughly one-third of annual produc-
tion and $2,500,000,000 in lost revenue, have repeatedly 
been postponed, most recently to December 2012; 
Whereas the Niger Delta is well-endowed with other natural 
resources beyond hydrocarbons, including water, timber 
and other forest resources, wildlife, and various species of 
aquatic organisms, and the Niger Delta is one of the 
world’s largest wetlands; 
Whereas oil production in the Delta has caused significant 
harm to the area’s fragile riverine ecosystem and to the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:59 May 02, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
livelihoods of the region’s inhabitants, 30,000,000 inhab-
itants, including minority ethnic groups like Ogoni, who 
have received international attention for their efforts to 
highlight the extensive environmental damage; 
Whereas by some estimates, over 500,000,000 gallons of oil, 
nearly the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill every year 
for 50 years, have been spilled in the Niger Delta since 
oil production began in Nigeria, limiting locals’ access to 
clean water and largely destroying fishing stocks, while 
gas flares from the oil wells contribute to acid rain and 
air pollution; 
Whereas oil contamination in Ogoniland is widespread, ac-
cording to a study conducted by the United Nations En-
vironment Program, with wells used for drinking water 
measuring high levels of carcinogens; 
Whereas for example of most immediate concern, community 
members at Nisisioken Ogale in Ogoni land are drinking 
water from wells that are contaminated with benzene, a 
known carcinogen, at levels over 900 times above the 
World Health Organization (WHO) guideline; 
Whereas the study determined that it may take 25 to 30 
years to restore the environment; 
Whereas Nigeria’s oil wealth has also contributed to long- 
standing political tensions, protest, and criminality in the 
Delta, feeding recruitment by various vigilante and armed 
groups and hindering both oil production and regional de-
velopment; 
Whereas corruption and nonrespect for rule of law at mul-
tiple levels of government, business, environmental over-
sight, and community relations, is the number one cause 
that permeates the activities of the Niger Delta that 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:59 May 02, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
cause problems to remain unsolved, regardless of the 
verbal pledges and recriminations that occur on an ongo-
ing basis; 
Whereas in 2009, Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua ex-
tended an offer of amnesty to Delta militants, pledging 
pardons and rehabilitation in exchange for disarmament 
and demobilization, and, by Government of Nigeria esti-
mates, almost 20,200 self-declared militants accepted the 
offer and demobilized, bringing relative calm to the re-
gion and allowing oil output to increase; 
Whereas the Presidential Amnesty and rehabilitation pro-
gram, which includes job training and social reintegration 
for ex-militants, offers a new opportunity for peace in the 
restive region, provided that the Government of Nigeria 
delivers on promised infrastructure improvements and job 
creation; 
Whereas the United States has been supportive of the Gov-
ernment of Nigeria’s reform initiatives, including not only 
the programs to promote peace and development in the 
Niger Delta, but also anticorruption efforts, economic 
and electoral reforms, and energy sector privatization; 
and 
Whereas in 2010, the United States and Nigeria established 
the United States-Nigeria Binational Commission, a stra-
tegic dialogue to address issues of mutual concern: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) as one of the world’s important wetland and 
coastal marine ecosystems, the Niger Delta should 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:00 Apr 30, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
be protected and its recovery and economic develop-
ment a priority; 
(2) all the stakeholders in the Niger Delta oil 
and gas industry, the Nigerian federal, state, and 
local governments, oil and gas companies, and other 
private sector actors, civil society, and the local com-
munity, including youth, women, and faith-based 
leaders, with input from the United States Govern-
ment when requested, should work together to collec-
tively address the environmental impact of oil and 
gas production in the Niger Delta by— 
(A) urgently providing relief and assistance 
to those affected by oil spills in the region; 
(B) urgently ensuring that oil pollution is 
cleaned up as a matter of urgency, in line with 
international good practice, and subject to inde-
pendent verification, and take all necessary 
steps to prevent further oil spills by equipment 
failure, sabotage, oil bunkering, or illegal refin-
ing; 
(C) enforcing zero tolerance policy on cor-
ruption; 
(D) respecting and adhering to the rule of 
law as a fundamental requirement of all players 
in regards to operations, oversight and involve-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:00 Apr 30, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
ment in the activities, governance, business, en-
vironmental protection, and citizens’ engage-
ment and entitlements with respect to the Niger 
Delta; 
(E) ensuring robust, independent, and co-
ordinated monitoring of the petroleum industry; 
(F) establishing a committee to monitor 
the environmental and social impact of the oil 
industry, hold regular sessions on the activities 
of multinational companies in the Niger Delta, 
discuss any impact of their practices, and make 
recommendations on how to address them; 
(G) promoting investments in the region 
that contribute to job creation for the Delta’s 
underemployed youth and provide alternative 
livelihoods for those affected by oil pollution; 
(H) developing an effective and com-
prehensive plan to prevent any further oil spills, 
in line with United Nations Environment Pro-
gram recommendations, that is fully consistent 
with Nigeria’s human rights’ obligations and in 
consultation with affected communities and be 
implemented transparently with local commu-
nities’ full and active participation; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:00 Apr 30, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
(I) developing an action plan to address il-
legal oil trade, bunkering, and building a 
stronger Gulf of Guinea Energy and Security 
Strategy (GGESS) to tackle the cause, crime, 
and violence in the Niger Delta and the entire 
region; and 
(J) conducting a campaign to— 
(i) end corruption and illegal oil re-
lated activities by including an awareness 
component highlighting the disproportion-
ate environmental footprint of artisanal re-
fining and design training, employment, 
and livelihood incentives that will encour-
age people away from participating in this 
illegal activity; and 
(ii) educate the community on the 
public safety, risk, and danger in drinking 
contaminated water; 
(3) the international oil and gas companies with 
operations in the Niger Delta region should— 
(A) make a clear public commitment to ad-
dressing pollution and its human rights’ im-
pacts, promptly, transparently, and in consulta-
tion with key stakeholders, particularly affected 
communities; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:59 May 02, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
(B) improve the control, maintenance, and 
decommissioning of oilfield infrastructure and 
apply industry best practices and international 
standards for public safety; 
(4) the United States Government should— 
(A) increase engagement with, and support 
of, the Government of Nigeria to ensure inde-
pendent oversight of the oil industry and to in-
crease access to effective remedy for people 
whose rights are affected by oil operations in 
the Niger Delta; 
(B) increase engagement with, and support 
of, the Government of Nigeria in improving ac-
cess to effective remedy for people whose rights 
are affected by oil operations in the Niger 
Delta; 
(C) assist the Government of Nigeria to 
implement the United Nations Environment 
Program (UNEP) in depth Ogoniland oil as-
sessment report which provides clear oper-
ational recommendations for addressing the 
widespread oil pollution across Ogoniland; and 
(D) assist the Government of Nigeria in 
tackling illegal oil trade, bunkering, and build-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:59 May 02, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
ing a stronger Gulf of Guinea Energy and Se-
curity Strategy (GGESS); and 
(5) the Government of Nigeria should— 
(A) establish a Commission of Inquiry to 
investigate companies’ compliance with environ-
mental legislation and regulations in the Niger 
Delta, assess actual losses, make recommenda-
tions for improving compliance with Nigerian 
regulations, and report publicly on all findings; 
(B) ensure enforcement of the national and 
international regulatory system and impose ef-
fective penalties when regulations are not fol-
lowed; 
(C) ensure that Nigerian petroleum regula-
tions address the social and human rights’ im-
pacts of the oil industry and include an assess-
ment of the potential impacts on human health, 
including access to clean water and livelihoods, 
meaningful consultation with communities, and 
greater transparency and access to information 
for affected communities; 
(D) amend laws on compensation to ensure 
that any sums awarded are fair and adequate, 
and cover long-term impacts, health issues, and 
all other reasonable damages; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:00 Apr 30, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
(E) amend the laws regulating the petro-
leum industry to ensure that they address the 
social and human rights’ impacts of the indus-
try, that they include a mandatory assessment 
of the potential impacts on human health and 
that environmental regulations are clarified to 
enhance the remediation process; 
(F) make public information about the im-
pact of oil operations on the environment and 
human rights, to include companies’ oil spill 
contingency plans, the Niger Delta Environ-
mental Survey, and all information regarding 
oil spills, any environmental impact assessments 
related to oil companies’ infrastructure and op-
erations, the Environmental Evaluation Report, 
and any post impact assessments; 
(G) encourage the Nigerian Parliament to 
pass the Petroleum Energy Bill that increases 
transparency, establishes a fair sharing mecha-
nism for oil and gas revenues with federal, oil- 
producing countries, protects the environment 
with better wetland conservation, encourages 
the use of clean technology equipment, allows 
diversification of energy production, and builds 
the region’s sustainable economy; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:59 May 02, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
•HCON 121 IH 
(H) arrest and prosecute those involved in 
corrupted, illegal, and oil bunkering activities 
and artisanal refineries. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:59 May 02, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HC121.IH
HC121
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS