Gas valued at $1.9bn was flared in Nigeria between 2020 and 2024, a report by the Nigerian Gas Flare Tracker has revealed.
The report stated that during the period under review, 595.1 million standard cubic feet of gas were flared in nine states of the federation.
The states were Rivers, Delta, Imo, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Anambra, Abia and Lagos.
Gas flaring continues to trend in Nigeria, despite cries of gas scarcity by electricity-generating companies.
Meanwhile, PwC in a recent report claimed that the percentage of gas flared in Nigeria had been reducing since 2002 and stood at 10 per cent in 2018.
“The country still ranks in the top 10 gas-flaring countries in the world, with 7.4 billion cubic feet in 2018. Total gas flared in Nigeria accounted for 6.9 per cent of the top 10 gas glaring countries in 2018,” it stated.
The Nigerian Gas Tracker said 31.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were recorded from 2020 to January 2024.
It said that penalties payable for gas flaring in the period was $1.2bn, though the names of companies flaring gas were not listed.
The report noted that the power generation potential of the gas flared was 59.5GWh.
Currently, gas-fired power plants in the country are operating far below capacity due to a lack of gas shortages.
The situation has deteriorated further in the last one month, putting many Nigerians in darkness.
Worried by the nationwide blackout, the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, sought to meet with the Nigeria’s Ministry of Petroleum Resources to address the gas shortage.
“Gas is burnt off, or ‘flared’, as part of the oil production process. Gas has been flared in Nigeria since the 1950s, releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere.
“Flared gas could be harnessed to provide power and electricity, which Nigeria faces an acute shortage of. This could be done at a local scale or by feeding into Nigeria’s national grid.
“However, this is in a bad state of repair, and a combination of infrastructure, regulation and investment is required to encourage gas-to-power initiatives that could help address Nigeria’s power challenges,” the Nigerian Gas Flare Tracker stated on its website.
Similarly, the World Bank described gas flaring as the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction.
It takes place due to a range of issues, from market and economic constraints to a lack of appropriate regulation and political will.
