The inability of the Nigerian government to turn resources into wealth
has been causing the country N1 billion annually in wasteful flaring
of gas in the Niger Delta.
The federal government of Nigeria acknowledged that gas flaring,
identified as the burning of gas that is the by-product of oil
production, costs the country about $1 billion yearly in lost revenue.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe kachikwu noted that
Nigeria has successfully eliminated 75 per cent gas flaring and is on
the track to totally eliminate gas flaring by 2020.
The minister maintained that Nigeria is committed to ending gas
flaring 10 years ahead of the 2030 deadline given by the United
Nations.
The minister said that government has also declared a fine of N50,000
or six months jail term, or both, for anyone who provides inaccurate
flare data.
He said that the federal government would award contracts for flared
gas by the third quarter of this year.
The minister said: “The Federal Government is auctioning rights to the
gas as part of an effort to eliminate flaring.”
It was observed that a significant amount of natural gas produced in
the country is still being wasted despite many deadlines set by the
government to end gas flaring and after several unmet deadlines, oil
and gas firms still continue to waste natural gas resources in the
country as the 2020 deadline nears. The oil giants deliberately
exploit crude from the oil wells and the gas content is being flared
rather than being converted from the bulk gas to liquidified gas for
domestic use.
President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Nigerian gas flare
commercialisation programme in October 2016 and the programme is aimed
at reducing gas flaring by harnessing flare gas to stimulate economic
growth, drive investments and provide jobs in the Niger Delta through
the utilisation of widely available innovative technologies.
Unfortunate, the oil companies ignore the development of the necessary
technology to process natural gas in Nigeria. In the same way crude
oil is being processed in foreign countries and returned to Nigeria
for consumption is applied to natural gas which is also processed
overseas and returned to Nigeria for consumption.
In addition to the health hazards of gas flaring, employment
opportunities are lost and Nigeria loses every economic advantages of
ownership of natural of gas.