Nigeria losing N868m daily to gas flaring — NNPC

Nigeria is currently losing N868 million daily, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, disclosed that oil and gas firms operating in the country are currently flaring 700 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.


Speaking at the 2018 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum, OLEF, organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, lamented that the 700 million SCF per day of gas that oil firms are flaring, was capable of generating an equivalent of 5,000 megawatts of electricity per day.

Using an average of $4 per 1,000 SCF of gas and an exchange rate of N310 to a dollar, the flaring of 700 million SCF translates to a loss of N868 million daily to the country.

This was even as the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, Mr. Aliyu Gusau, stated that human resources development is critical to addressing this and many other challenges confronting the energy industry and the country in general.

He stated that Nigeria is blessed with a huge human resources that are capable of improving the country’s fortunes if their skills are properly harnessed.

In his own presentation, Maikanti Baru, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream of the NNPC, Mr. Bello Rabiu, however, disclosed that efforts and massive investments had been made by the NNPC which had ensured that as at today, all the thermal power plants in the country are connected to permanent gas supply pipelines.

Baru said the NNPC had invested in the massive revamp of the country’s pipeline network, a development which had helped improved gas supply to critical sectors of the economy, and which also helped brought down the volume of gas flared by oil and gas companies from 2.5 billion standard cubic feet, SCF, per day to the current level of 700 million SCF per day.

According to him, between 2010 and today, almost 500 kilometers of pipelines had been completed, commissioned and were now delivering gas.

He said, “We have embarked on one of the most aggressive gas reforms and implementation. Accelerated implementation of gas pipeline infrastructure development, with specific focus on critical pipeline infrastructure to power plants is being put in place.”

He listed some of the completed pipelines to include the 196 kilometers, KM, Oben-Geregu pipeline; 110km Escravos-Warri-Oben pipeline; 50km Emuren-Itoki pipeline; 31km Itoki-Olorunshogo pipeline; 24km Imo River-Alaoji pipeline and 128km Ukanafun-Calabar.

Baru noted that, “With these, all available power plants in the country today are connected to permanent gas supply pipelines. In addition, there is ongoing construction of the very strategic East-West OB3 pipeline, which is 127km, scheduled for completion by third quarter 2018, the expansion of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System scheduled for completion by first quarter 2018.

“Most recently, the Federal Executive Council approved the contract award of the 40-inch by 614Km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline and associated facilities.”