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The recent report that Nigeria lost N233 billion to gas glaring in 2018 is not cheering. The loss, according to the report by PwC, Nigeria accounted for 3.8 per cent of the total global gas flare for the year under review. The report entitled “Assessing the Import of Gas Flaring on the Nigerian Economy: Part 1,” which was launched in Lagos recently revealed that the total cost of the environmental effect of gas flaring was put at N28.76 billion.
Available statistics from the World Bank showed that gas flaring cost the global economy $20 billion in 2018 while 240 million standard cubic feet (mscf) of gas worth $839.9 million was flared onshore during the same period. The report also pointed out that the amount of natural gas flared onshore would have attracted payable penalty of $479 million.
It stated that the flared gas had 24,000 gigawatts per hour of power generation potential. Currently, Nigeria is among top 10 gas flaring countries in the world, with 7.4 billion cubic feet in 2018. It also has the highest proven gas reserves in Africa and 9th largest in the world with about 200.41 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas and 600 Tcf unproven.
Also, Nigeria produces about 8.4 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. While 18 per cent of the production is consumed in the domestic market, 43 per cent is exported, 32 per cent is re-injected for enhanced oil recovery and other operational uses. About seven per cent of total gas production is currently being flared in the country.
We condemn the continued loss of huge revenue to gas flaring despite measures put in place by the Federal Government to stop the menace which is inimical to human health and the environment. The government last year gave oil companies operating in the country 2019 deadline to end gas flaring or stop producing.
To ensure that oil companies meet the deadline, government increased the penalty for gas flaring by over 600 per cent. While the 2019 deadline cannot be said to be feasible, there are also strong indications that the government’s 2020 deadline to achieve zero gas flaring may not be realised due to some challenges.
And since the delay in the passage of other components of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is stated as one of the challenges in meeting the gas flaring deadline in the country, we urge the lawmakers and other stakeholders in the oil sector to ensure a speedy passage of those aspects of the bill into law. Besides, the gas being flared now can be used to generate power to the tune of about 3,000 megawatts or even more. It can also create jobs and provide clean energy to six million households.
The huge money lost as a result of gas flaring can adequately finance some developmental projects in the health and education sectors. It can be deployed to road infrastructure, housing and the railways. We call on the Federal Government and the oil companies to ensure that we meet the 2020 deadline to achieve zero gas flaring in the country in view of its debilitating effects on the economy, human health and the environment.
It is a fact that many oil-producing nations no longer tolerate gas flaring and Nigeria should not be an exception. The Federal Government must muster the will to ensure that any oil company that flouts the regulation on gas flaring is severely punished. It should no longer be business as usual.
President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier promised to cut gas emission by 20 per cent in the first phase of the plans to end gas flaring in the country. The government should keep to the promise.
