Nigeria loses over N735m daily to gas flaring – official

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) says Nigeria is losing over 4.9 million dollars (more than N735 million) daily to gas flaring. Mr George Osahon, a Director in DPR, made the disclosure at the 14^th Business Forum of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) in Lagos.

Osahon said that in spite the country’s massive hydrocarbon endowment, Nigeria was yet to fully benefit from the resources. According to him, Nigeria gas reserves endowment is up to 600 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF), hence the country is often described as large gas haven with little oil. “Oil production stands at 2.5 mbpd, while gas flared stood at 1.4 billion cubic feet per day. This means that an average of 4.9 million dollars worth of gas is being flared on daily basis  which translates to about 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas flared daily by the international oil companies,’’ he said.

Osahon, who was represented by Mr Oliver Okparaojiako, a Deputy Director in DPR, said that gas flaring would be curtailed when Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was passed into law. “It will help in the creation of a modern petroleum legal frame work, align with the Nigerian Gas Standard to meet international best practises and enhance transparency,” Osahon said. Osahon said that the objective of the PIB was to increase exploration activities and expand reserves and formulate a National Oil and Gas Policy.

He said that whenever the PIB was eventually passed into law, it would ensure that gas was widely used for domestic purposes. The theme of the forum was “Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Analysing the challenges and opportunities on the gas value chain and solutions for successful implementation in Nigeria’’.