INTRODUCTION

Gas flaring occurs when upstream oil field operators opt to burn the associated gas that accompanies oil production, or simply release it into the atmosphere, rather than build equipment and pipelines to capture it. This is called ‘non-emergency flaring and venting’.  It results in the release of substantial volumes of potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) including methane, black soot, and nitrous oxide to the atmosphere, and this causes even worse environmental damage than flaring. With natural gas prices at historic highs, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that gas flaring in addition to its negative impacts on climate change and human health, is an extraordinary waste of money. It stated that bringing this gas to the market could relieve very tight gas markets and, in many cases, could do so faster and cheaper than investing in new gas supply. According to the IEA’s 2023 report, around 140 bcm of natural gas is flared globally each year. In the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario, all non-emergency flaring is eliminated globally by 2030, resulting in a 95% reduction in flared volumes and avoiding 365 Mt CO2-eq.

Gas flaring has been a long-standing concern within Nigeria’s energy sector. In the first half of 2023, oil and gas companies in the country flared 138.7 million metric standard cubic feet of gas. This led to the emission of 7.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), valued at a rate of US$485.3 million. Nigeria ranks among the world’s top offenders in terms of gas-flaring volumes, with an estimated 80 billion standard cubic meters of gas, valued at approximately N9 trillion flared as part of its oil production operations between 2012 and 2022. This profligate practice not only results in significant financial losses for the nation but also contributes substantially to carbon emissions and release of various other pollutants into the atmosphere, thus, negatively impacting host communities.