The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) at the weekend inaugurated a 12-member Flare Gas Commercialisation Programme Team.
The team’s responsibility will be to drive the process and coordinate the flare commercialisation toward the Federal Government’s initiative to end gas flaring by 2025.
Members of the steering committee include K.O. Ofoegbu and O.I. Anyanechi; while A.T. Adeyiga, J.O. Ogunsola, J.C. Anyanwu, A.O. Okwah, O.E. Oje, N.E. Odega, K. R. Abisoye, J. C. Echendu, C. I. Chukwukaelo and G. L. Umoru are from the programme team.
The committee is expected to carry out its mandate bearing in mind the overarching significance of the programme to the socio-economic wellbeing of the nation.
In a statement the Commission Chief Executive (CCE), NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, described gas flaring in the oil and gas industry as a menace, which needs to be eradicated because of its adverse effect on the environment and the people.
“The wasteful disposal of natural gas is not only fraught with serious health/environmental consequences but is also a major resource waste and value erosion to the country.
“Against this backdrop, the Federal Government declared the period 2021 to 2030 as the ‘Decade of Gas’, a period within which the nation must shift focus from oil-centred exploitation to gas-driven industrial development,” he said.
At the inauguration of the Team in Abuja, Komolafe said monetising gas resources is a positive step towards guaranteeing energy security, especially in the global energy transition period, adding that Nigeria must ensure it harnesses all its available resources for value creation.
He informed that NUPRC is recommencing the process of issuing flare sites to technically competent companies, following a competitive bid process, which he said, has become crucial given the Federal Government’s policy direction to ensure all gas resources are developed for national development.
The wasteful disposal of natural gas is not only fraught with serious health/environmental consequences but is also a major resource waste and value erosion to the country.
The Commission is currently carrying out a study in conjunction with external technical resources to identify suitable flare sites for the auction process for which the committee was inaugurated to drive the process and coordinate the implementation of the programme.
The Chief Executive appreciated support from the USTDA, USAID and other stakeholders and reiterated the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that the programme is expeditiously executed.
President Muhammadu Buhari made a commitment toward the Paris Agreement during the COP26 Leaders’ Summit to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2060.
In 2016, the Federal Government initiated the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), to end gas flaring by oil companies operating in the country.
Although the initiative was well-received by stakeholders, unforeseen constraints truncated its execution.
The inauguration was witnessed by a delegation from USAID comprising Oladiran Adesua, Jennifer Ifeanyi Okoro and Andrew Smith.
