Uses of radioactive sources in the petroleum industry

The petroleum industry has been identified as the largest importer and user of radioactive substances in Nigeria. The uses of radioactive sources in the industry cover both upstream and downstream operations. These include nuclear well logging, nuclear level density gauges, radiography and the application of radiotracers in oil well management, reservoir studies and leak detection in pipelines and in the study of attrition rates in fluid catalytic cracking units. These uses, their economic value notwithstanding, still lack a national regulatory body to ensure safety by law to personnel and environment from such uses