Reps probe $2.5bn annual loss to gas flaring

The House of Representatives has inaugurated an ad hoc committee to investigate $2.5 billion lost annually to gas flaring in Nigeria.

The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, while speaking at the inauguration of the committee in Abuja on Monday, July 24, 2023, charged the committee to get the root causes of gas flaring and make recommendations to end the menace.

Abbas said the probe was an acknowledgment of the urgent need to understand and mitigate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of this practice.

He said: “The task before this ad hoc committee is a very critical one that lies at the heart of the health of our people and economic well-being of our nation.

“You have been charged with the responsibility of investigating, perhaps, one of the most harmful practices in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

“Gas flaring and venting has been a significant environmental, economic, health, and social concern in our country for many years.

“The flared gas represents lost revenue that could have been generated through its sale or utilization. Official records indicate that we lose about 2.5 billion dollars annually to gas flaring.”

The Speaker stated that as a major contributor to climate change and environmental degradation, gas flaring has direct and indirect impacts on soil, water, and wildlife.

“Gas flaring represents a tremendous waste of valuable resources; it is a precious energy source that could be utilised for various purposes, such as electricity generation, heating, or industrial processes,” he added.

The chairman of the committee, Babba Munir (APC-Kaduna State), said the members were representing the interest of all Nigerians, adding that the issue of gas flaring had lingered for decades despite several undertakings by oil companies to stop it.

The committee, however, invited Total/Mobil V Domestic wing, Total/Oando JV, Total Energies, African Petroleum (AP) Plc, and Ardova Plc to appear before it on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

Others are Azman Oil and Gas Limited, Matrix Oil And Gas Shata Limited, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC)

Also to appear are Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company (Aje Oil Field-Offshore), Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy (SEEPCO), Belemaoil Producing Limited, Walter Smith Petroman Oil Limited, Green Energy International Limited, Millenium Of and Gas Company Limited, Folawiyo Energy Eroton Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, and Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited.

The Star

Segun Ojo