Nigeria loses $1.7bn to gas flaring

Chinazor Megbolu

Nigeria has lost $1.7 billion as a result of gas flaring in the country.

The loss came as a result of the 475.3 billion standard cubic feet flared by oil and gas firms operating in Nigeria in 2019.

The amount in Nigeria currency is put at about N521.9 billion according to data obtained from the National Oil Spill Detection & Response Agency (NOSDRA).

The Gas Flare Tracker of NOSDRA had said the gas flaring was recorded in both onshore and offshore sites in Nigeria.

The report also showed that the 475.3 billion SCF of gas that was flared in 2019 is an equivalent of 25.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, C02, emissions and was capable of generating 47,500 gigawatts of electricity per hour.

The report also hinted that the firms are liable to pay a fine of $1 billion, an equivalent of N307 billion as penalties for flaring that much quantity of gas.

It further indicated that onshore oil production sites accounted for 50.3 per cent of total gas flared in 2019, with 239 billion SCF of gas, translating to a loss of $836.4 million; CO2 emission of 12.7 million tonnes; power generation of 23,900 gigawatts per hour and the country is supposed to collect a fine of $477.9 million from the companies, an equivalent of N146.72 billion.

However, the offshore oil production sites accounted for 49.7 per cent of total gas flared in 2019, with 236.4 billion SCF of gas, resulting to a loss of $827.3 million, an equivalent of N253.98 billion; CO2 emission of 12.7 million tonnes; power generation of 23,900 gigawatts per hour.

The offshore companies are expected to pay a fine of $472.7 million, an equivalent of N145.12 billion as penalties for gas flaring.

“The N521.9 billion recorded as the amount of gas flared by the oil firms, represented 386.9 per cent or 3.9 times the N134.91 billion budgeted for the Ministry of Power in the 2020 budget and is 57.94 per cent, or more than half of the N900.77 billion budgeted for the Ministry of Defence.

“The amount is also 8.8 times more than the N58.98 billion budgeted for the Ministry of Aviation; 5.2 times more than the N100.56 billion budgeted for the Ministry of Water Resources; and it represented 75.99 per cent of the N686.82 billion budgeted for the Ministry of Education,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the amount of gas flared last year was 3.9 times and 1.2 times more than the N133.99 billion and N441.01 billion allocated to the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Education respectively, in the 2020 budget.

Moreover, in its Monthly Financial and Operations Report for November 2019, released recently, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) disclosed that total gas supply for the month of November 2018 to November 2019 stood at 3.080 trillion SCF out of which 467.37 billion SCF and 1.344 trillion SCF were commercialised for the domestic and export market.

Edited by ‘Biodun Soyele