Gas flaring in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta region has posed serious environmental, health and food insecurity concerns over the years, with the federal government placing some penalties on erring companies to force them to be more circumspect in exploration.
Consequently, oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria, including major players like the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Shell, and Chevron, have made to pay a total of N391 Billion in penalties for gas flaring in 2024, according to the latest industry data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The penalties were imposed by the Federal Government in response to ongoing violations of gas flaring regulations, which remain a serious environmental issue in the country’s oil-producing regions.
Companies penalised during the period include NPDC, Mobil, Chevron, Addax, Shell, Agip, Esso, First Exploration & Production, Star Deep, Seplat, Eroton, Continental, New Cross, Aiteo, Mid Western, Green Energy, Network Exploration and Production, TUPNI, and Universal.
Gas flaring, the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction, continues to pose environmental and health challenges in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta.
Despite efforts to curb the practice, Nigeria remains one of the top gas-flaring countries globally.
The wasted gas could otherwise be harnessed for power generation and other productive uses.
According to NUPRC’s 2024 report, Nigeria produced a total of 2.511 trillion cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas in 2024, with a daily average output of 6.86 billion cubic feet per day.
This represents a slight increase of 0.53% compared to 2023. Out of the total gas produced, 2.317 TCF (92.26%) was utilized, while 0.1918 TCF (7.64%) was flared.
The flare rate showed a slight increase from the 7.36% recorded the previous year, indicating that flaring remains a challenge despite improved gas management initiatives.
Utilised gas supported various operations, including in-house fuel use, gas lifting, pressure maintenance, storage, and sales to domestic and international markets.
Export sales accounted for 39.5% of total gas production, while domestic utilisation stood at 28.7%, reflecting persistent challenges in the local gas market.