Following on from our previous blog on gas flaring in Nigeria, the country has announced new plans to reduce routine flaring.
According to the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Africa’s largest oil and gas producer is flaring eight billion cubic metres of gas per year – losing approximately $10 billion of revenue annually. If flare gas was captured and used for energy, Nigeria could produce an additional 600,000 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). This increased production would create thousands of jobs and help deliver electricity to 75 million people.
Why flare?
Without an adequate infrastructure to manage and store natural gas, Nigeria’s oil and gas facilities are at risk of unplanned over-pressuring of equipment. Flares are used to burn off unwanted reserves of natural gas, avoiding build-ups of pressure and the risk of explosion. Nigeria’s revenue loss is caused by the inability to capture and commercialise flared gas in the country.
Quick response
Maikanti Baru – group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) –recently announced a three-point strategy to control gas flaring by 2020. The plan involves:
- Making new oil and gas field development plans ineligible if they do not have a viable plan to utilise gas
- Steady reduction of existing flares through a combination of targeted policy interventions
- Re-invigoration of the flare penalty and new legislation which places a ban on gas flaring via Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations
An ambitious plan
Some experts are questioning the validity of the new plan. The President of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics reported that incentives, legislative backing and infrastructure are currently not in place to end gas flaring. While the policy exists – and commercial entities have agreed to it – passing a law through Nigeria’s National Assembly might not be possible in just two years.
Current fines attached to gas flaring have also been deemed to be too lenient, so it remains more attractive to flare instead of collect natural gas. Flared gas in Nigeria rose from 244 billion Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) in 2016 to 287 billion SCF in 2017, while the gas flare penalty remained the same throughout.
Meeting Nigeria’s needs
If Nigeria is to complete its three-point strategy by 2020, it will need effective monitoring and measurement of natural gas.
Fluenta’s FGM 160 Flare Gas Meter uses ultrasonic technology to provide accurate flare gas measurement, enabling operators to better track emissions data for clear and accurate reporting.
For more information on Fluenta’s FGM 160 Flare Gas Meter, click here.
