The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Kunle Salako has called on stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to seize every opportunities, harness collective resolve, and work together to jointly make gas flaring a thing of the past in Nigeria.
The Ministed made the call where he delivered an address at the third National Extractives Dialogue 2024 (NED2024) in Abuja recently
Dr Salako while addressing staholders, great minds, experts and industry players said the gathering is crucial as they discuss a theme of utmost importance: “Gas Flare Reduction: Catalyst for Accelerating Nigeria’s Path to Net-Zero Emissions and Sustainable Development.
“Nigeria’s commitment to achieving a ‘just transition’ to net-zero emissions has garnered significant attention on the global stage.”
Dr Salako mentioned Federal Governments commitment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he launched the Nigerian Carbon Market Initiative as part of Nigeria’s efforts to uphold its commitment to reducing emissions.
” This initiative is part of the broader African Carbon Market Initiative, aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s participation in global carbon markets.”
“Historically, gas flaring has been a common practice in the Nigerian oil and gas industry due to the absence of infrastructure to capture and utilize the associated gas. As a result, gas has been continuously burned in oil fields, leading to the release of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. Despite regulatory efforts, enforcing regulations has been challenging, and many operators still flare gas due to insufficient penalties and the high costs of gas capture and utilization technologies.”
The minister made the gathering to understand that Nigeria’s policies on gas flaring has however evolved significantly over the years. Initially, the focus was on production maximization, with little regard for the environmental impact of gas flaring. However, recognizing the severe implications of this practice, the Nigerian government has implemented several policies aimed at reducing and ultimately eliminating gas flaring.”
“Key among these is the Gas Re-injection Act of 1979, which mandated oil companies to submit gas utilization plans, and more recently, the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP), launched in 2016, which aims to attract investments in flare gas capture projects.”
Again acxordinf to the Minister, As a testament to Federal Governments commitment to innovative solutions in this area, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) which is the regulatory arm of the Federal Ministry of Environment in the oil and gas sector, is playing a pivotal role in addressing gas flaring and methane emissions from the activities of the oil and gas industry players.
“The Nigerian Gas Flaring Tracker (NGFT), a key initiative of NOSDRA, serves as a cornerstone in the country’s environmental regulatory framework for the oil and gas industry. This unique, technologically driven environmental regulatory tool is a satellite-based platform, that not only provides near real-time monitoring and tracking of gas flaring activities but also quantifies carbon emissions thereby enhancing transparency and accountability within the oil and gas sector.”
Dr Salako also expresses deep concern that while a few international Oil Companies (IOC) and other operators are heading the call of government for gas flare transparency and accountability most International Oil Companies (IOCs) are not responding at the scale expected to the call by NOSDRA’s which reflects a disregard for Nigeria’s environmental sustainability agenda.
