Nigeria burns up N373b as gas flaring increases 10%
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Gas flaring cost the treasury N373 billion in the first half of the year ending June (H1 2023) as the waste rose 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 138.7 million metric standard cubic feet (mscf) from 126.1 mscf in H1 2022.
Abuja has expressed commitment to achieving zero flaring by 2060.
Gas flared in H1 2023 amounted to $485.3 million or N373 billion based on the current Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange of N768.6/dollar.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), which disclosed this in its latest data, said oil-producing companies responsible for the flaring would pay $277.3 million (N213 billion) for breaching gas flaring laws.
But judging from previous flare reports, the oil companies are not likely to pay the penalties soon as several billions of dollars are still outstanding against them.
NOSDRA said the volume of gas flared in H1 2023 was equivalent to 7.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission which could have generated 13,900 gigawatts (gw) of electricity per hour.
The agency lamented despite efforts to reduce gas flaring, it has gone on since the 1950s, releasing carbon dioxide and other gaseous substances into the atmosphere.
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House of Reps investigating gas flaring
The House of Representatives will soon begin a probe into $2.5 billion yearly loss to gas flaring, per Vanguard.
House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas has inaugurated an ad hoc committee to investigate alleged 9.05 billion revenue loss from gas flaring in the past decade.
The committee is mandated to get to the root causes and make recommendations to end the menace, with Abbas stressing the probe is an acknowledgement of the urgent need to understand and mitigate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the practice.
Abbas noted flared gas is lost revenue that could have been generated through its sale or utilisation, adding official records show Nigeria loses about 2.5 billion dollars yearly to gas flaring.
As a major contributor to climate change and environmental degradation, he stressed, gas flaring has direct and indirect impact on soil, water, and wildlife.
But Gbenga Komolafe, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, (NUPRC), argued provisions in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) are not adequate to end gas flaring.
“The PIA has proscribed gas flaring. There is a high penalty against flaring and NUPRC is unsparing. Besides, the winners of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, NGFCP, would work toward ending gas flaring,” he said.