Endless burn: Why Nigeria must act now to stop gas flaring

The recent revelation that Nigeria has lost a staggering $16 trillion to gas flaring over the past decade highlights the country’s prevailing culture of waste and institutional failures.

Despite a national program decreeing an end to this practice, oil-producing companies have continued to burn off natural gas during oil extraction and processing, resulting in wasted energy, environmental degradation, and significant economic losses.

However, a large portion of this valuable resource is being needlessly flared. This is a missed opportunity for a country grappling with financial challenges, including a foreign debt of $43.16 billion and an infrastructure gap estimated at $3 trillion over the next 30 years.

Additionally, Nigeria faces high unemployment rates of 33.3 percent and is home to the second-largest number of poor people globally.

A country with such poor human development indices should be prioritising the maximisation of its natural resources, rather than burning them and further damaging the environment and the health of its citizens.

Modern technology offers effective gas-trapping methods during crude oil extraction, which other countries have successfully deployed to boost their economies. Nigeria must seize this opportunity to harness its gas reserves for sustainable development and economic growth.

The persistence of gas flaring in Nigeria is a testament to the long-standing failures of successive governments and regulatory agencies. For decades, they have recklessly allowed oil companies to defy regulations and continue this harmful practice.

This lack of accountability and enforcement has not only perpetuated environmental and health concerns but has also resulted in significant economic losses for the country.

President Bola Tinubu must recognise the urgency of the situation and take decisive action to end gas flaring in Nigeria.

This will require robust regulatory measures, strict enforcement, and collaboration with oil-producing companies to adopt modern technologies for gas trapping. By doing so, Nigeria can unlock the immense economic potential of its gas reserves, address its financial challenges, and improve the well-being of its citizens.

It is time for Nigeria to break free from its culture of waste and embrace a sustainable and prosperous future.

Tinubu, who has retained the oil ministry portfolio, must therefore fully enforce the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act that stipulates penalties for gas flaring and mandates oil companies to stop flaring gas.

In the vast expanse of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, a troubling trend persists. Upstream and downstream companies have shamelessly flared an astronomical amount of gas over the years, causing significant financial and environmental losses.

The numbers speak for themselves: 12.9 billion cubic metres in 2012, 9.2bcm in 2013, 8.3bcm in 2014, and 7.5bcm in 2015. Although there was a slight dip in 2016, flaring surged again in 2017, reaching 7.8bcm in 2019.

This wanton waste of resources has cost the nation an estimated $16 trillion during this period.The impact of this reckless behavior extends beyond Nigeria’s borders.

In 2018 alone, global gas flaring cost the world economy a staggering $20 billion, with Nigeria contributing $761.6 million. It is disheartening to note that Nigeria, along with just nine other countries, accounts for 75 percent of global gas flaring.

These countries include Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, Mexico, Libya, and China, as confirmed by the 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report.

The consequences of this rampant flaring are far-reaching. According to data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, oil companies in Nigeria flared gas worth over $1 billion between January 2022 and August 2023, resulting in a staggering financial loss of N843 billion.

This wasted gas could have generated a substantial amount of electricity, approximately 14,700 gigawatt hours, but instead, it contributed to carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 7,800 metric tonnes.

The toll on the economy, environment, and the health of residents in and around oil-producing areas is undeniable.It is imperative for the government to adopt responsible fiscal and resource management practices. Additionally, it must address the issue of industrial-scale theft of crude and refined petroleum products, which has plagued the industry for years.

 With daily crude theft reaching a staggering 400,000 barrels per day, Nigeria has lost a mind-boggling 619.7 million barrels of crude between 2009 and 2020, valued at $46.16 billion or N16.25 trillion, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

The time for change is now. Nigeria must take decisive action to curb gas flaring, protect its resources, and ensure a sustainable future for its people.

In addition, the National Environmental, Economic and Development Study for Climate Change in Nigeria states that the annual environmental cost of gas flaring amounts to N28.8 billion.

Despite the government’s efforts to eliminate gas flaring, progress has been slow and hindered by bureaucracy. To address this issue, Tinubu should revive the Nigeria Gas Master Plan and set a new target date of 2030 to end gas flaring.

Nigeria has the potential to become a leading exporter of natural gas if it takes decisive action. Tinubu should demonstrate the necessary political will and implement concrete measures to strengthen the regulatory framework and ensure compliance from oil companies.

A carrot-and-stick approach, offering incentives for capturing and utilizing natural gas while imposing stronger sanctions for flaring, can be adopted.

Nigeria should also leverage its membership in the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership to implement quick-win policies and invest in the latest technology. Repurposing gas flaring sites for productive uses would create employment opportunities and address gas shortages for power generation and domestic use.

With the high demand for gas in Europe and domestically, now is the ideal time to utilise flared gas for productive purposes. This would generate significant revenue for the government and contribute to economic recovery.

Health is also an urgent issue. Gas flaring harms local ecosystems, emitting pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, which have adverse effects on air quality and human health in the oil-producing region. The pollutants cause respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, and other health issues in nearby communities.