Niger Delta Militants: Lives Saved
Militant resistance cut Nigerian crude production by a sustained 200-800,000 bpd since 2006
Rough calculations based on 2015 numbers:
- Global oil production: 79,784,300 barrels per day 1
- Human deaths from industrial pollution: 5,500,000 2
- Human deaths from climate change: 450,000 3
- Oil proportion of global fossil fuels combustion: 37.9% 4
Deaths averted by shutting in 200,000 barrels of oil per day: 200,000 / 79,784,300 * .379 * 5,950,000 deaths / 12 months = 471 lives saved per month.
For the months when militants shut down 800,000 barrels of oil per day, they saved 1884 lives per month.
Death statistics are probably conservative, so it seems reasonable to round up to 500 to 1900 lives saved per month.
- World Crude Oil Production By Year
↩ - Lancet Commission on pollution and health, figure 7
↩ - DARA Climate Vulnerability Monitor, 2nd ed
↩ - World Energy Consumption. Oil comprised 33% of global consumption. Gas or coal could be more or less culpable for fatalities than is oil, but this is a rough estimation, so we’ll assume equal harm. Oil, gas, and coal combined comprised 87% of global consumption. 33 / 87 = 37.9% of total fossil fuel consumption attributable to oil.
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