29 November 2011, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – Nigerian lawmakers are planning a legislation that will end gas flaring at oil fields, mainly in the Niger Delta region, before 2015.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says Nigeria is flaring a total of 38.60 billion standard cubic feet (bscf) of gas, representing about 19.5 per cent of total gas production, at onshore and offshore oil fields.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ecology and Environment, Bukola Saraki, who disclosed plans for the new law, said it was important for the drafting of the legislation to control the gas flaring to get underway immediately.
“Gas flaring as being proposed to end in 2015 is unacceptable, if we still have gas flaring in 2015, I think members of the National Assembly would not have done their work well,” Saraki told journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State..
“It is our desire to bring in bills that would immediately address the issue and stop gas flaring. I hope in the next one month, there would be a bill on that.”
Data from the NNPC shows that gas flaring has reduced significantly.
According to a November 1-NNPC’s edition of the Monthly Petroleum Information (MPI), 197.62 bscf of gas was produced while 159.02 bsfc was utilised.
Experts say the increased utilisation of gas for power generation, export and industrial use could be attributed to the reduction.
The Committee on Ecology and Environment highlighted the many ecological problems across Nigeria, including desert encroachment in the north, erosion in the South-East, coastal flooding in the West and oil degradation in the South-South.
