Nigeria remains in top 7 gas-flaring countries despite reducing gas flaring by 500 million SCF

According to recent data by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCl), in January, gas flaring was reduced by 500 million Standard Cubit Feet (SCF) from 10 billion SCF recorded in December 2022 to hit 9.5 billion SCF.

The reduction volume of 500 million SCF is, however, still regarded as a very low volume when compared with the intended volume needed to remove the country from the list of gas-flaring nations.

According to the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Tracker, 10 countries have continually remained the largest flaring countries in 2021. These include Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, Nigeria, Mexico, Libya, and China.

The report also revealed that the countries were responsible for 75 percent of all gas flared and also produced 50 percent of global oil.

The World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Tracker also revealed that for 10 years in a row, the top seven countries (Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela, and Nigeria) have maintained their positions as top gas flaring countries.

The gas flaring report from the NNPCL also showed that despite the reduced gas flaring volume noticed in January 2023, the volume was still higher than the amount recorded in November 2022 (9.3 billion SCF).

While explaining the mechanism behind gas flaring in Nigeria, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the body which monitors the burning of gas in the country explained that the molecules are burnt off, or ‘flared’, as part of the oil production process.

It also added that since the 1950s, gas has been flared in Nigeria releasing carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere, a process which has continually remained a source of hazardous health concerns in the Niger Delta, despite efforts to reduce it.