Nanotechnology that turns oil into water unveiled in Port Harcourt

A new nanotechnology that breaks down oil pollutants into water was presented at the World Ocean Day event in Port Harcourt. The developer claims it could cut oil spill cleanup time from decades to months or a few years.

Suka Monta, an Ogoni-born energy and environmental expert working under an undisclosed franchise, said the organic-based system can handle hydrocarbons and petrochemicals on surface, soil, and groundwater at the same time.

“What can take 30 years for the conventional approach, as stated by the UN report for Ogoni cleanup, and still re-pollute and re-contaminate the environment, will take us a matter of months, or a few years,” Monta told journalists.

He added that smaller spills could be neutralised within hours. The technology avoids multi-phase methods like excavation, treatment and backfilling. Monta warned that chemical dispersants and heavy excavation can kill earthworms and damage ecosystems.

“If earthworms die in the course of remedying the environment, then you have not cleaned the environment; you have displaced another ecosystem,” he said.

Monta said demonstrations were held for officials from the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) and a major international oil company. He said the oil company re-tested the results using its own equipment and called them “amazing.”

The technology is already being deployed in the Amazon basin, which has similar ecological conditions to the Niger Delta. Monta said the company behind it is ready for immediate deployment in Nigeria.

Stakeholders demand stronger environmental governance

At the same event, stakeholders called for stronger policy on Nigeria’s coastal and marine resources. They urged the Rivers State Government to create a dedicated Ministry of Blue Economy. They also pushed for a comprehensive environmental audit of the state using expertise from the Ogoni cleanup programme.

Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface of the Youth and Environment Centre (YEAC) Nigeria called for a wider Niger Delta cleanup and criticised ongoing pollution from illegal refining and pipeline vandalism.

Experts welcomed the new technology but said its effectiveness must be independently validated at scale before wider adoption. Monta expressed confidence, saying: “We are ready right now.”