Stakeholders have been assured that the Federal Government’s Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme(NGFCP) will lead to zero flaring by 2030.
As of 2019, 320 billion Cubic Feet of Gas (BCF) was said to have been flared.
The objective of the NGFCP, which is being supervised and managed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), is to eliminate gas flaring through technically and commercially sustainable gas utilisation projects developed by competent third party investors who have been invited to participate in a competitive and transparent bid process. In 2019, Nigeria flared 320 billion Cubic Feet of Gas (BCF)
Head of Gas Ventures, Neconde Energy Limited, Chichi Emenike, gave the assurance during a webinar session, with the title ‘‘Gas as a new frontier for Economic Growth’’, in Lagos, at the weekend.
According to the World Bank, gas flaring costs the global economy $20 billion in 2018 while in Nigeria, PwC estimated that the nation’s economy lost N233 billion ($761.6 million) to gas flaring which translates to 3.8 per cent of the global total cost in 2018. She expressed optimism that the gesture would enable various gas-to-power projects, which would make the country attain the global terminal date for gas flare.
Emenike added that stakeholders were already talking to one another to see how infrastructure that would help address the issue and subsequently eliminate gas flaring is put in place.
The Neconde gas ventures head, however, advised that government should create an environment to safeguard the investments and technology brought in through clear fiscal policies that are not ambiguous. She added that investments put in place by assets owners which were targeted at bringing down these flare sites should still make sense as a business; otherwise the whole essence would have been defeated. The gas expert added that the passage of the much-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would cause a paradigm shift that would lead to the development of the energy sector and the country.
