11 February 2014, Lagos – Oil companies in Nigeria produced about 592.220 million Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) of gas in three months, valued at about $2.676 million or N428 million, between July and August 2013, according to data by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
This represents an increase of 9.33 per cent over the total gas production of 541.68 million SCF recorded between April and June 2013.
The NNPC in its summary of Gas Production and Utilisation, disclosed that of the total gas produced, about 479.999 million SCF, valued at about $2.17 million (N347.028 million) was utilized, while 112.221 million SCF, valued at $507,083, about N81.133 million, was flared.
The current price of gas in the international market is $4.43 per million British Thermal Unit(BTU). One cubic foot of gas is made up of about 1,020 BTU.
Consequently, the amount of gas flared is 18.92 per cent of the total amount of gas produced within the period.
Below is how the quantity utilised was disbursed:
•40.706 million SCF for fuel;
•142.182 million SCF sold to third parties,
• 29.204 million SCF sold to the Nigerian Gas Company,NGC, a subsidiary of the NNPC;
• 157.7 million SCF was re-injected;
• 2.668 million SCF as fuel gas to Eleme Petrochemicals Limited, EPCL;
• 9.229 million SCF as Liquid Petroleum Gas/Natural Gas Liquids (LPG/NGL) or feedstock to EPCL;
• 83.619 million SCF as for Liquefied Natural Gas, LPG or cooking gas, and;
•14.689 million for gas lift.
A further breakdown of total gas production in the period in review revealed that the Joint Venture, JV companies produced the largest proportion of 474.454 million SCF of gas.
They utilised about 401.453 million SCF or 84.6 per cent of the total and flared 73 million SCF. Companies operating under the Production Sharing Contracts, PSCs, produced 92.283 million SCF of gas, utilised 75.43 million SCF. They flared about 16.85 million SCF or 18.26 per cent of their total production.
The Sole Risk/Independents oil companies on the other hand, produced 22.475 million SCF of gas, flared 20.01 million SCF, representing 89.03 per cent of the total, while only 2.465 million SCF was utilised.
– Michael Eboh, Vanguard
