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The report that Nigeria lost about N150 billion between January and April this year to gas flaring has brought to the fore the urgent need to end gas flaring by the federal government. At a time Nigeria is in need of money to fix its decaying infrastructure and revamp its wobbling education and health sectors, it is sad that gas is still being flared by international oil companies operating in the country.
Apart from loss of huge revenue, gas flaring contributes so much to environmental pollution, health hazards and climate change. The oil companies should stop gas flaring as it obtains in other countries and embrace renewable energy. Fortunately, Nigeria has the largest gas reserves in Africa, put at 209 trillion standard cubic feet (scf). However, it is regrettable that Nigeria lost N150billion between January and April 2023 to gas flaring. There are 178 identified gas flaring sites in the country. Latest figures point to the fact that oil companies in Nigeria have, in the last four years alone, flared 1.2 trillion scf of gas into the atmosphere, and about 95.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (C02) worth about $6.3billion within the last four years. This could generate 179.9 thousand Gigawatts of electricity (GWh).
The C02, methane, and soot released due to gas flaring, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) can cause cancer, lung damage, deformities in children, asthma, pneumonia, neurological and reproductive problems as well as environmental challenges, which could stall agricultural productivity and aquatic and wildlife lives. According to the National Oil Spill Detection and Regulatory Agency (NOSDRA), a federal government-run satellite tracker, over 1.8 billion scf of gas had been flared in the last nine years (2011-2020). The penalty for this amounts to about $3.6billion. The quantity of gas emissions is said to have been under-reported by the oil majors to avoid payment of the penalty for gas flares. Nigeria is one of the global hotspots for gas flaring. According to the World Bank 2020 Global Gas Flaring tracker, a leading indicator of gas-flaring, since 2008, Nigeria became the 7th largest gas country, surpassing Russia, Iraq, Iran, USA, Algeria, and Venezuela.
The amount of gas flared in Nigeria is four times the volume of natural gas burnt by Saudi Arabia. Nigeria accounts for 12.5 per cent of total flared natural gas in the world. All these countries have reportedly reduced gas flaring, except Nigeria. Though some of the oil companies in Nigeria had, at some points, pledged their commitment to environmental sustainability and climate change, they are yet to deliver on that promise, even though marginal reductions have been recorded. Only recently, Total Energies announced that it will stop gas flaring at the end of 2023, saying its plan is to fully focus on renewable energy. But, there are increasing concerns that gas flaring has reduced life expectancy in Nigeria to 41 years in oil- producing communities in the Niger Delta region due to weak regulation. The amount reportedly lost to gas flaring is unacceptable, particularly at this time that the federal government is borrowing N11 trillion to fund the 2023 budget. According to the budget performance report prepared by the Accountant General Office and the Budget Office, government is already spending 99 per cent of revenue on debt servicing.
The gas flare alone, in monetary terms, could provide about 30 per cent of the revenue to fund this year’s budget. It is on record that Nigeria has failed seven times since 1979 to meet the target set to end gas flaring. The new deadline is 2030. At the 6th Congress and Exhibition of the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA) in Abuja, in 2016, former President Muhammadu Buhari promised to support the United Nations Agreement on “Zero Routine Gas Flaring” by 2030.
He told APPA member countries to set realistic targets for gas flare-act in the region. There is need for stiffer penalty for gas flaring in the country. The present fine of $2 for 10,000 scf gas flared is a slap on the wrist. It is not deterrent at all. A Federal High Court had in 2005 ruled that gas flaring was a great violation of the human rights of those living in oil communities. In 2009, Shell Petroleum Development Company said that more than $3billion of additional investment was needed to reduce gas flaring as low as “is reasonably possible.” The Petroleum Industry Act also set 2025 as deadline to stop gas flaring in Nigeria. This deadline, like previous ones may not be met.
In 2021, the World Bank reiterated the danger of gas emissions, and said that about 2 million people in Nigeria live less than 4 kilometers away from a flare site, a development that poses danger to their lives, especially children. Without further delay, we urge the National Assembly to strengthen all relevant regulations guiding gas flaring in the country. This has become expedient because some of the oil companies are taking advantage of the weak regulatory oversight and pervasive corruption in the oil and gas industry to continue gas flaring. This should be stopped, or at least be reduced to the barest minimum.
