07 December 2015, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Nigeria lost $29.975 million, an equivalent of N5.995 billion to gas flaring in one month, as oil and gas firms operating in the country flared 13.75 billion standard cubic feet (SCF) of gas in the month of August 2015.
The NNPC, in its Monthly Petroleum Information for August 2015, stated that the oil and gas firms produced 251.667 billion SCF of gas in the month under review, utilized 237.917 billion SCF and flared 13.75 billion SCF.
The amount of gas flared represented 5.46 per cent of total gas produced by the companies in the month under review.
Using an average gas price of $2.18 per 1,000 SCF, as published on the website of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and an average exchange rate of N200 to a dollar, the 13.75 billion SCF of gas flared by the oil and gas firms amounts to $29.975 million, about N5.995 billion.
The amount of gas flared in August was 45.64 per cent lower than the 25.295 billion SCF of gas flared in June 2015. Particularly, oil firms produced 257.713 billion SCF of gas in June, flared 9.82 per cent of their total production, and utilized 232.418 billion SCF.
Service Contract Companies, comprising only Agip Energy and Natural Resources (AENR) was the worst offending, flaring 97.79 per cent of their total gas production, as they produced 421.224 million SCF of gas, utilized 9.3 million SCF and flared 411.924 million SCF.
Marginal Fields’ operators followed with the flaring of 1.939 billion SCF of gas, representing 32.18 per cent of their total gas production of 6.024 billion SCF, utilizing 4.086 billion SCF, while Production Sharing Companies produced 49.08 billion SCF, utilized 55.477 billion and flared a deficit of 6.397 billion SCF.
Sole Risk/Independent companies flared 2.99 billion SCF, representing 12.63 per cent of its total production of 23.676 billion
SCF, while 20.686 billion SCF of gas was flared. Joint Venture Companies were the least offenders, as they flared 14.807 billion SCF or 8.59 per cent of their total gas production, while they utilized 157.66 billion SCF.
On a company-by-company basis, Newcross, Midwestern Oil and Brittania-U were the worst offenders, as they flared 100 per cent of their total gas production of 522.84 million SCF, 255.998 million SCF and 23.838 million SCF respectively.
Platform Petroleum, Allied/Camac Energy, Dubril Oil and AENR followed, flaring 621.318 million SCF or 99.66 per cent, 213.68 million SCF or 98.83 per cent, 166.284 million SCF or 98.78 per cent and 411.92 million SCF or 97.79 per cent respectively, out of their total gas production of 623.434 million SCF, 216.22 million SCF, 168.33 million SCF 421.224 million SCF respectively.
In addition, Pillar Oil flared 24.94 million SCF of gas representing 88.88 per cent of its total gas production of 28.06 million SCF; Star Deepwater produced 12.227 billion SCF of gas and flared 10.32 billion SCF, representing 84.4 per cent of its total production; Energia Limited flared 79.05 per cent of its total production of 929.046 million SCF; Amni flared 74.05 per cent of its 664.99 million SCF of gas production, while Oriental Energy produced 381.832 million SCF, utilized 143.808 million SCF and flared 238.024 million SCF, representing 79.05 per cent of its total production.