Data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency reveals that the Federal Government lost approximately N843 billion due to gas flaring from January 2022 to August 2023.
In its latest gas flare report, NOSDRA disclosed that oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria flared 147.1 billion standard cubic feet of gas valued at $514.9 million (about N390 billion) between January and August 2022.
This trend continued with firms flaring 171.1 billion SCF of gas valued at approximately $599 million (N453 billion) during the same period in 2023.
This sums up to a total loss of about N843 billion in gas revenue for the Federal Government during these 20 months.
The report highlights that the volume of gas flared in the first eight months of 2023 was 16.28 percent higher compared to the same period in 2022.
It also notes that this volume of flared gas could have generated 17,100 gigawatts/hour of electricity and emitted 9.1 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Furthermore, NOSDRA indicated that the oil companies were liable for penalties amounting to $342 million (approximately N251 billion).
However, a significant portion of these penalties remained uncollected by the Federal Government.
Notable companies involved in gas flaring, according to NOSDRA, include Shell Petroleum Development Company, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Chevron Nigeria, Mobil Oil, Elf Petroleum Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Addax Petroleum, Texaco Overseas (Nigeria), Cromwell, and South Atlantic Petroleum, among others.
These companies flared gas from various Oil Mining Leases and Oil Prospecting Licenses.
This report emerges in the context of the Federal Government’s commitment to achieving zero gas flaring by 2060, aligning with the United Nations’ 2050 target.
