The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has revealed that the Federal Government lost about N843 billion to gas flaring over a 20-month period, between January 2022 and August 2023.
This was contained in the agency’s latest gas flare report where it disclosed that oil and gas companies operating in the country, between January and August 2022, flared 147.1 billion SCF of gas, valued at $514.9m, about N390 billion.
The report further showed that between January and August 2023, the companies flared 171.1 billion standard cubic feet of gas valued at about $599 million (N453 billion).
This gives a total of about N847 billion lost between January and August last year and the same period this year.
The report further indicated that the volume of gas flared in the eight-month period this year was 16.28 per cent higher compared with the same period in 2022 and that the gas flared in the first eight months of this year had the potential of generating 17,100 gigawatts/hour of electricity; while it emitted 9.1 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The report also noted that the offending companies were liable for penalties of $342 million, about N251 billion, adding, however, that a large chunk of the penalties was never collected by the Federal Government.
Comparatively, between January and August 2022, the oil firms were liable for penalties of about $294 million (N223 billion) and that the gas lost had a power generation potential of 14,700 GWh of electricity, while it was equivalent to carbon dioxide emissions of 7,800 tonnes.
Some of the offending companies, according to NOSDRA include Shell Petroleum, Development Company, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Chevron Nigeria, Mobil Oil, Elf Petroleum Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Oil Company, Addax Petroleum, Texaco Overseas (Nigeria), Cromwell and South Atlantic Petroleum, among others.
These companies flared gas from Oil Mining Leases 04, 05, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 28, 23, 24, 38, 40, 42, 43, 72, 49, 54, 90, 95, 67, 70, 104, 59, 99, 100, 101, 102 and Oil Prospecting Licenses 222, 316 and 306, among others.
