Nigeria loses 33bn cubic feet of gas in two months
Lagos -- Nigeria lost 33 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas in the first two months of this year through gas flaring. International Oil Companies, IOCs, and National Oil Companies, NOCs, operating in the country flared that volume of gas in their operations during the period under review.
Data from state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, showed that 17.53 billion standard cubic feet, scf, of gas was flared in February, while 15.51 billion scf was flared in March.
Nigeria's gas flare rate was 7.67 percent in February (i.e. 565.52 million standard cubic feet per day), compared to 7.73 percent in January (i.e. 554.01 million scfd).
The report is coming amidst global campaigns and efforts by the developed countries and international oil firms to go green by investing in renewable energies, to cut carbon emissions.
According to the NNPC report, of the 206.05 billion scf produced in February, 133.06 billion scf was commercialised - 40.15 billion scf going to the domestic market and 92.91 billion went to the export market.
An average of 64.48 percent of gas produced was commercialised while the balance of 35.52 percent was either re-injected, used as upstream fuel gas or flared.
In January, a total of 223.55 billion scf of natural gas was produced, the NNPC said.
Out of the total gas output in January, 149.24 billion scf was commercialised, consisting of 44.29 billion scf and 104.95 billion scf for the domestic and export markets respectively.
This indicated that 67.15 per cent of the daily gas output was commercialised while the balance of 32.85 percent was re-injected, used as upstream fuel, or flared.
According to the revised payment regime for gas flaring in Nigeria, while oil firms producing 10,000 barrels of oil or more per day will pay $2 per 1,000 standard cubic feet of gas flared, those producing below 10,000 barrels of oil per day will pay a gas flare penalty of $0.5 per 1,000 scf.