The federal government's goal to stop gas flaring by 2025 is being supported by the 12-member Flare Gas Commercialization Programme Team, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Speaking at the weekend, the commission's chief executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, said that gas flaring in the oil and gas industry has persisted as a scourge that must be eliminated due to its harmful effects on the environment and people. This was stated in a signed statement.
According to Komolafe, monetizing gas resources is a step in the right direction toward ensuring energy security, particularly during the current global energy revolution. According to him, Nigeria as a country must make sure to exploit all of its gas resources for value generation.
He declared that, after a competitive bid process, NUPRC is resuming the process of awarding flare sites to technically qualified businesses.
Given the federal government's strategic objective to ensuring that all gas resources are used for national development, this process has become vital.
He emphasised that the careless disposal of natural gas not only threatens public health and the environment but also depletes the nation's resources and decreases their value.
“Against this backdrop, the federal government declared the period 2021 to 2030 as the “Decade of Gas”, a period within which the nation must shift focus from oil-centred exploitation to gas-driven industrial development.
“Even though the World Bank has set 2030 as the target year to end gas flaring, Nigeria has not only set a country deadline for 2025, President Muhammadu Buhari made a commitment toward the Paris Agreement during the COP26 Leaders’ Summit to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2060.
In 2016, the Federal Government initiated the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) to end the flaring of natural gas by oil companies operating in the country.
Komolafe lamented that though the initiative was well-received by stakeholders and industry watchers, unforeseen constraints truncated its execution.
He revealed that the Commission is currently carrying out a study in conjunction with external technical resources to identify suitable flare sites for the auction process. It was for this purpose that the committee of staff of the Commission was inaugurated to drive the process and coordinate the implementation of the programme.
The steering committee members are K.O. Ofoegbu and O.I. Anyanechi; while A.T. Adeyiga, J.O. Ogunsola, J.C. Anyanwu, A.O. Okwah, O.E. Oje, N.E. Odega, K. R. Abisoye, J. C. Echendu, C. I. Chukwukaelo and G. L. Umoru from the programme team.
Komolafe urged the committee to carry out its mandate bearing in mind the over-arching significance of the programme to the socio-economic well-being of the nation.
He appreciated the support from the USTDA, USAID and other stakeholders and reiterated the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that the programme is expeditiously executed.
The inauguration was witnessed by a delegation from USAID comprising Mr Oladiran Adesua, Jennifer Ifeanyi Okoro and Andrew Smith.