Why Nigeria loses $692.66m yearly on gas flaring 

The inability of Nigeria to put a total stop to gas flaring has seen the country losing an average of $692.66 million annually from flaring an average of 224. 22 billion standard cubic feet (SCF) of the product.

For an economy in recession, this is a huge waste, according to experts.

 

Though this is seen as a 30 per cent reduction from the records in the past 10 years, it is still believed that it could have significantly dropped had policy makers adhered strictly to the timetable for elimination of gas flaring, put in place in 2005 by the international Energy Information Administration (EIA).

 

According to the data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) about112.11 billion SCF, translating to a loss of $336.33 million or N105.9 billion was recorded in the first six months of 2016.

 

A breakdown of the figure showed that oil and gas companies in January 2016, flared 22.32 billion SCF of gas; in February, 20.38 billion; in March, 20.11 billion SCF of the commodity was flared,while April, May and June, witnessed: 18.7 billion SCF, 15.8 billion SCF and 14.8 billion SCF respectively flaring.

 

The NNPC Monthly Financial and Operational Report for the month of June 2016 also stated that the country earned $451.24 million or N142.14 billion, from gas export.

 

Also, the country earned N13.528 billion from domestic sale of gas in the period under review.

Read also: Nigeria reduces gas flaring by 45%

Stated the report : “The MoM breakdown of the amount earned from gas export in H1’16 showed that the country raked in $135.89 million, $72.53 million, $2.28 million, $131.17 million, $60.25 million and $49.12 million, in January, February, March, April, May and June 2016, respectively.

 

However, all the proceeds from gas export, including proceeds from crude oil export in the period under review were utilised for the NNPC Joint Venture Cash Call payments, with zero remittance to the Federation Account.

 

In the area of domestic gas sales for the six-month period, the report noted that the country earned N880.31 million, N944.4 million, N2.53 billion, N3.66 billion, N2.45 billion and N3.06 billion respectively in the months January through June.

 

It further disclosed that out of a total of 1.35 trillion SCF of gas produced in the six-month period, 157.54 billion SCF was utilised in the domestic market; 591.88 billion SCF was exported.

 

The report added that between July 2015 and June 2016, average gas supply to power plants in the country stood at 650 million SCF per day to generate 2,825 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

By Emma Eke….

 

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