The intensity of gas flaring in Nigeria has not changed since 2015 according to the International Energy Agency.
The Times reported that the International Energy Agency said in its Oil and Gas Industry in Net Zero Transitions report, which was published on November 23, that while Nigeria has made significant efforts to lower the intensity of its flaring, these efforts have largely remained unchanged since 2015.
A part of the report said, “The Nigeria Gas Master Plan and the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulation are two of the policies and strategies the country has created specifically aimed at curbing flaring.
“Between 2005 and 2015, flaring emissions decreased by 65%, from around 70 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-eq) to 25 Mt CO2-eq. Since 2015, the intensity of flaring in Nigeria has stayed relatively stable due to the use of the most straightforward projects and the challenges posed by aging infrastructure at several plants.”
The Nigerian government, according to the report, has demonstrated its commitment by implementing increasingly strict legislation aimed at minimizing flaring from oil and gas operations.
According to the research, Nigeria is unique among African countries in that it was the first to implement a plan to limit flaring under the Associated Gas Re-injection Act of 1979.
Even with the advancements, Nigeria has faced difficulties in continuing to consistently lower the intensity of flares since 2015.
This standstill is partly due to the use of the simplest-to-implement projects, as well as the ageing infrastructure of many facilities, which creates barriers to further reductions.
According to the IEA research, Nigeria revised its Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement in 2021 in order to address these issues.
The Nigerian government released regulations in 2022 to control greenhouse gas emissions from upstream oil and gas operations in order to further these objectives.
Strict steps are required to prevent emissions under these criteria, such as regulating repair methods, prohibiting cold venting, and defining standards for combustion efficiency.
According to the IEA research, natural gas plays a variety of roles in Africa’s energy landscape and is used in a variety of ways around the continent.
Natural gas makes up a meager 5% of the energy mix in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is gradually being more widely used domestically and seeing notable progress in projects aimed at export.
Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria are the leading three gas producers on the continent, accounting for almost 80% of the natural gas produced there. Africa has found significant natural gas reserves over the past ten years, estimated to be over 7,000 billion cubic meters (bcm).
As a quarter or so of these newly discovered resources have already been licenced for exploitation, several countries are currently in the midst of significant gas production expansions. This includes large-scale projects in Egypt, Mauritania, and Mozambique.
If all goes according to plan, these projects might produce about 70 billion cubic metres of gas a year by 2030. According to IEA estimates, over the course of the following three decades, the burning of gas from these approved projects may result in cumulative CO2 emissions of roughly 10 gigatons (Gt).
This emission volume is approximately equivalent to the energy sector’s current emissions for four months. Africa has historically contributed about 3% of the total CO2 emissions connected to energy.
When the emissions from burning this petrol are taken into account, Africa’s share might increase to about 3.5%.
