Nigeria Gas Flared and Cost Implication

Nigeria shows no clear indication it will end gas flaring in the country anytime soon, as a new deadline remains to be set.

Gas flaring has been estimated to cost Nigeria over $2 billion (about N320 billion) annually; that is besides the danger the process poses to human, animal and plant live. As International Oil Companies (IOCs)  defy penalties on the issue, the last deadline to end flaring expired December 31, 2013 having been set by the federal government to implement a 40 year-old legislation.

A great deal of gas flaring at many oil and gas production sites has nothing to do with protection against the dangers of over-pressuring industrial plant equipment, as some may claim. When petroleum crude oil is extracted and produced from oil wells, raw natural gas associated with the oil is produced to the surface as well. Especially in areas of the world lacking pipelines and other gas transportation infrastructure vast amounts of such associated gas are commonly flared as waste or unusable gas.