Nigeria and 11 other countries have been identified as the top gas flaring nations in 2020, accounting for about 87 per cent of flared gas in the review period.
The gas flaring activities of the countries, which include Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, the US and Venezuela, also account for potential loss of up to $82bn a year, according to the GlobalData report.
The federal government had pledged to end the burning of gas as a by-product of oil production by 2030, under its latest climate plan submitted to the United Nations, but the report showed that Nigeria flared an average of 11.1m3/bbl of gas in 2020.
Recall that with 7.83bcm in 2019, up from 7.44bcm in 2018, the World Bank had ranked Nigeria as having the seventh-largest volume under the Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report (GCFR), despite having a low level of energy access. This is despite having reduced flaring by 70 per cent between 2000 and 2020, according to the International Energy Agency, as a result of tougher penalties and incentives to capture and sell the gas.
GlobalData notes that, even though technological solutions exist to avoid gas flaring, many countries persist with the activity – including developed countries such as the United States and Russia. Besides lost revenue, this is also an environmental issue, as gas flaring is one of the major contributors to CO2 emissions.
According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Gas Flaring-Thematic Research’ countries could make up to $82bn if they utilise this gas instead of flaring it.
Senior Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, Anna Belova, said: “It would do many countries, especially in Europe and Asia where natural gas prices are setting all-time records, a lot of good if oil and gas operators found the strategy to sell this gas rather than lose it – not only for the money but for meeting their CO2 targets too.”
Belova added: “The top 12 gas-flaring countries, flared almost 13 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfd). To put that into context, that amount of gas could easily keep the whole of Japan well supplied for a year. All of that power has simply gone to waste.”
