Gas flare: NOSDRA receives tools to monitor

The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency has received two online platforms for monitoring oil spills and tracking gas flares in the Niger Delta region from the developers – Stakeholder Democratic Network – who were funded by Facility for Oil Sector Reform.

At a ceremony to receive the platforms in Abuja, the Director-General of NOSDRA, Mr Idris Musa, stated that the tools would make the work of the agency more transparent.

According to him, the platforms will enable the agency to immediately identify oil spill sites, measure the volume of the spill and identify the company that operates or owns the facility.

The gas flare tracker, on the other hand, would identify flare sites, measure the volume of gas being flared as well as the companies involved in the flaring.

The tracker also has the capacity to measure the dollar equivalent of the gas flared as well as the amount of power that could be generated if the gas was used for power generation.

In another development, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, has called on members of the Nigerian Association of Energy Economics to come up with economic models for predicting the boom and burst cycles in the global oil and gas industry.

Baru threw the challenge at the NAEE Annual Conference Dinner and Award Night which held Monday in Abuja according to a statement made available to our correspondent by Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja on Tuesday.

The NNPC boss said that such a model could help cushion the effects of price volatility on oil dependent countries like Nigeria.

He said, “Cycles of booms and bursts like the one we had in 2014/2015 have always been there in the oil and gas industry, but no one has been able to come up with reliable scientific models to help in predicting the critical trends capable of inflicting grave impacts on our economy.

“My charge to you, therefore, is that your members consider channelling their energies and resources to research in this direction and come up with solutions that can save the world, and particularly crude oil-dependent countries.”

Baru who was honoured with the association’s most prestigious and highest award of Distinguished Public Service commended the association for its contribution to the growth of the oil and gas industry.