Stakeholders tackle government over environmental, health concerns caused by gas flaring

Stakeholders in the environment and health sectors in Nigeria have raised concerns that climatic change, environmental degradation occasioned by consistent gas flaring by international oil companies (IOCs) will continue to have adverse effect on communities in the Niger-Delta region unless the Federal Government take a decisive step in curbing gas flaring, BusinessDay investigations have shown.

They are worried that apart from the visible environmental damage, there is a growing increases in health related illnesses like cancer, neurological, reproductive and developmental effects of various degrees among inhabitants of such communities where gas-flaring activities occur.

Industry watchers have therefore called on the government to up its commitment in terms of investment in gas gathering projects, which will translate into better economy at large.

Largely, acid rain has been connected to gas flaring activities, as layered rooftops in the Niger-Delta area have been corroded by the composition of rain that falls as a result of flaring.

Acid rain, occasioned by corrosive downpours, harms vegetation and also accelerates the decay of building materials and paints, and contributes to visibility degradation, says Ajugwo Anslem, an energy researcher and environmentalist.

The issue of gas flaring is an area Nigerian government has not enforced environmental regulations effectively, because of the overlapping and conflicting jurisdiction of separate governmental agencies governing petroleum and the environment as well, he observes.

Anslem points out that neither the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) nor the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has implemented anti-flaring policies for natural gas waste from oil production, nor have they monitored the emissions to ensure compliance.

He is worried that government continues to pay lip service to the issue of gas flaring without considering how oil exploration and exploitation processes create environmental, health, and social problems in local communities near oil-producing fields.

Government has to contribute to the investment that is required to reduce gas flaring, says Wumi Iledare, professor of Petroleum Economics and director of Emerald Energy Institute, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Iledare says that government needs to do better management of resources, and that is the only way to bring gas flaring to zero level, stressing that Nigeria cannot afford to shut down every plant producing gas in its bid to achieve zero level of gas flaring.

According to Iledare, “The amount of infrastructure required to use in achieving zero gas flaring is very significant. With adequate investment we can move to zero flaring.

He however discloses that Nigeria has done close to 80 percent effort to checkmate the issue of gas flaring, saying, “Nigeria has done well. We have not come to zero level of gas flaring. I think we are below 20 percent now when it come s to gas flaring, because of the so many projects that is in place.”

Energy experts say the issue of gas flaring will continue to impede the nation’s prospect in benefiting optimally from export of gas and pose health and environmental challenges until the government, owner of 60 percent stake in virtually all the joint ventures, commits huge investment in infrastructure to checkmate the menace.

In their 2015 Statistical Report, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stated that Nigeria produced 86,325.2 million standard cubic meters of gas and flared 10,736.8 million standard cubic meters in 2014.

Statistics indicate that oil firms in Nigeria, especially the IOCs, continue to flare substantial amount of the gas resources in the country. This situation is further compounded by the lack of infrastructure to monetise natural gas that is currently being flared.

Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation in its 2014 Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB) stated that oil and gas firms in the country flared 289.6 billion SCF of gas, representing 11.47 percent of the total gas produced in the country.

According to the ASB, the Joint Venture companies, comprising the multinational oil companies in terms of quantity, flared 211.836 billion SCF of gas, representing 11.2 percent of their total gas production of 2.11 trillion SCF. Production Sharing Contract (PSC) companies followed as they flared 66.12 billion SCF of gas, representing 19.95 percent of their total gas production of 397.58 billion SCF.

Kareem Jubril Adedayo, an energy expert with Ecobank, says tackling gas flaring demands government and private sector collaboration, which will focus on policy and incentive for gas producers and pipeline operators. “With a solid agreement between the two, we can begin to anticipate the much needed investment in the sector, which will in turn achieve the year 2020 zero gas flare projection,” Adedayo says.