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Original Research Article

Occupational Safety and Disaster Risk Convergence in Upstream Oil and Gas Operations in Nigeria: A Conceptual Framework and Comparative Case Analysis

Sunny Asomaku, Godspower Imiete, Victoria O. Emelu, Efe-Michael Agbragu, Abiye tomquin, Maureen Ugwu, Geoffrey Ebe

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Sunny Asomaku Corresponding Author

Centre for Disaster Risk Management and Development Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

ORCID: 0000-0002-5819-515X

Correspondence: sunny_asomaku@uniport.edu.ng

Abstract

Upstream oil and gas facilities in Nigeria are workplaces and, at the same time, hazard sources for the communities and ecosystems around them. Occupational safety and health (OSH) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) have nonetheless developed as separate fields with separate laws, metrics and institutions. This article argues that this separation contributes to recurring blind spots: events that begin as process-safety failures end as community disasters. Drawing on organisational accident theory, safety culture research, vulnerability and resilience scholarship, and Niger Delta political ecology, the paper develops a convergence framework with four domains (hazard governance, shared learning, joint preparedness, and accountability and redress). The framework is applied to four documented Nigerian cases, the Funiwa-5 blowout (1980), the Jesse pipeline fire (1998), the Bodo spills (2008–2009) and the Bonga export-line spill (2011), and to a desk-based assessment of eight legal and normative instruments. Cross-case analysis shows that each event exposed weaknesses in leak detection and reporting, off-site emergency coordination, credible investigation, and redress. Five propositions are advanced for empirical testing, and implications are drawn for operators, regulators and host communities. The paper contributes a shared vocabulary for practitioners and a research agenda for integrating workplace safety with community disaster risk in Nigeria.

Keywords: Occupational Safety; Disaster Risk Reduction; Process Safety; Niger Delta; Upstream Oil And Gas; Sendai Framework; Community Vulnerability; Resilience
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How to Cite

APA

Asomaku, S., Imiete, G., Emelu, V. O., Agbragu, E.-M., tomquin, A., Ugwu, M., & Ebe, G. (2026). Occupational Safety and Disaster Risk Convergence in Upstream Oil and Gas Operations in Nigeria: A Conceptual Framework and Comparative Case Analysis. British Journal of Advanced Research, 1(5), Article 001. https://doi.org/10.68263/BJAR-J49FNJ5E

MLA

Asomaku, Sunny, Godspower Imiete, Victoria O. Emelu, Efe-Michael Agbragu, Abiye tomquin, Maureen Ugwu, and Geoffrey Ebe. "Occupational Safety and Disaster Risk Convergence in Upstream Oil and Gas Operations in Nigeria: A Conceptual Framework and Comparative Case Analysis." British Journal of Advanced Research, vol. 1, no. 5, 2026, article 001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.68263/BJAR-J49FNJ5E

Chicago

Asomaku, Sunny, Godspower Imiete, Victoria O. Emelu, Efe-Michael Agbragu, Abiye tomquin, Maureen Ugwu, and Geoffrey Ebe. "Occupational Safety and Disaster Risk Convergence in Upstream Oil and Gas Operations in Nigeria: A Conceptual Framework and Comparative Case Analysis." British Journal of Advanced Research 1, no. 5 (2026): 001. https://doi.org/10.68263/BJAR-J49FNJ5E

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ISSN 3153-709X
Tracking ID BJAR_OCT_26_005
Article No. 001
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Article Info
Journal BJAR
Volume Vol 1, No 5
Year 2026
Type Original Research Article
Licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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