The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency has stated that oil companies that fail to reach the country’s zero gas flare rate may face fines of up to N19.4 billion (N768.77/$).
The Punch reported that the N19.4bn fine showed that the companies flared 12.7 million standard cubic feet of gas in July 2023.
This marked a 35% increase over the 9.4 mcf of gas flared during the same period last year.
NOSDRA valued the 12.7 MSCF flared at $44.3 million, which is equivalent to N34.1 billion at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s current official currency rate.
The volume of gas flared during the review period was comparable to 673.1 thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions and had a power generation potential of 1,300 gigatonnes hours.
NOSDRA reported that firms operating offshore flared 5.1 million scf of gas, while companies operating onshore flared 7.6 million scf.
Despite efforts to limit gas flaring, NOSDRA complained that it has continued in Nigeria since the 1950s, spewing carbon dioxide and other gaseous chemicals into the environment.
