Risk management framework for safe transportation of petroleum products in Nigeria: Learning from past accidents and good practices

Many accidents involving trucking petroleum products by road in Nigeria have been associated with consequential effects on human safety and the environment. Such accidents have exposed the lack of accident risk management structure in Nigeria. Following an initial analysis of regulatory framework for downstream petroleum activities and a scoping exercise with sampled stakeholders in Nigeria, we conducted 19 semi-structured interviews and collected 2318 accident reports involving truck tankers, which we used for accident risk analysis. Analysis of accident reports shows that 79 per cent of the accidents were caused by human factors such as dangerous driving and speed violation. Accidents were categorised based on reported fatalities. Most of the accidents with deaths had 1-5 fatalities, with approximate cumulative frequency of 0.89. Accident hotspots across Nigerian states were identified. Thematic interview analysis reveals a number of contributory factors to regulatory deficit including limited regulatory resources, poor accident reporting and investigating culture, corruption and rent seeking culture. A risk management framework was therefore proposed. The framework is designed to be utilised by both regulators and operators in Nigeria and adheres to principles of commitment to change, collaboration, organisation and communication, enhancing knowledge of hazards and risks, and continues improvement.