Evaluation by remote sensing of marine pollution by hydrocarbon in Gabon from 2015 to 2017: case-sudy of Port-Gentil and Mayumba

Abstract

Evaluation by remote sensing of marine pollution by hydrocarbon in Gabon from 2015 to 2017: case-sudy of Port-Gentil and Mayumba. Gabon is the fifth largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 70% of its exploited reserves are in the offshore, and it is not uncommon to record oil spills in the marine environment, caused by this oil exploitation. This is not without consequences for the coastal ecosystem, and for man. Pollution monitoring can be addressed through remote sensing. The Sentinel-1A mission has the potential to detect oil spills in the marine environment and the advantage of being able to operate at night and in cloudy conditions. The results obtained reveal for the facades of Port-Gentil and Mayumba the presence of 154.65 km2 of surface oil pollution, including 53% in Port-Gentil and 47% in Mayumba. The origin of the pollution has been identified: unidentified operator (38%), Total Gabon SA (25.66%), Perenco Gabon SA (16.61%), Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (11.35%), Stream Oil Holding (6.54%), Vaalco Gabon (ETAME) Inc. (1.84%). This study confirmed the presence of hydrocarbon spills coming from from oil platforms in the facades of Port-Gentil and Mayumba for the period from 2015 to 2017. We highlight the limits of Sentinel-1A in the detection of hydrocarbons, which represents an obstacle for operational monitoring, and for the identification
of polluters in order to protect the marine and land ecosystems.