Petroleum pipeline explosions in sub-Saharan Africa: A comprehensive systematic review of the academic and lay literature

• The burden of pipeline fires and explosions is under-represented in the literature.
• We identified 28 pipeline fire disasters occurring in five different countries in SSA.
• <50% of pipeline-related incidents in the past ten years are reported in the academic literature.
• Majority of pipeline explosions originate from intentional damage to pipelines.
• Non-academic sources can effectively supplement gaps in the academic literature.

BackgroundExperience indicates that the frequency and impact of petroleum pipeline fires and explosions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is presently under-represented in the academic literature.Materials and methodsUsing adapted PRISMA guidelines, the authors reviewed both PubMed and the LexisNexis Academic news database, which includes periodicals, news transcripts and online reports. Country-by-country searches were conducted for petroleum pipeline fires and explosions in SSA occurring between June 1, 2004 and May 31, 2014.ResultsInitial search yielded 5730 articles from LexisNexis Academic and 3 from PubMed. On further review, a total of 28 separate petroleum pipeline-related incidents causing injuries and/or deaths were identified, 16 of which had not been previously reported in the academic literature. The events occurred in Nigeria (23), Kenya (2), Ghana (1), Sierra Leone (1), and Tanzania (1). A total of 1756 deaths were reported across all events. The most common cause of the original leak was intentional, either from theft or vandalism (13/20, 65%), or by militia activity (2/20, 10%).ConclusionsFire disasters related to scavenging fuel from petroleum pipelines are common in SSA and cause significant morbidity and mortality. These events require better reporting tools and intervention strategies overall. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that non-academic sources can effectively supplement gaps in the academic literature.