Nigeria remained one of the world’s largest gas-flaring countries in 2025, ranking among nine nations responsible for 83 percent of global gas flaring despite growing efforts to commercialise associated gas and reduce emissions.
This is according to the latest Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report released by the World Bank.
The report identified Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria and the United States as the largest contributors to global gas flaring.
According to the report, these nine countries accounted for 83 percent of global flaring in 2025, while more than 90 other oil-producing nations collectively contributed only 17 percent despite accounting for 54 percent of global oil production.
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Flaring rises alongside oil production
The World Bank noted that Nigeria recorded an 8 percent increase in gas flaring volumes in 2025, matching an 8 percent rise in crude oil production during the same period.
Despite the increase, Nigeria’s flaring intensity, a measure of gas flared per barrel of oil produced, remained largely unchanged from 2024.
“Iraq, Libya and Nigeria saw little or no change in flaring intensity compared to 2024,” the report stated.
The performance contrasts with countries such as Venezuela and the United States, which reduced flaring intensity by 11 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, Mexico, Russia, Algeria and Iran recorded worsening flaring intensity during the year.
Infrastructure gap remains key challenge
The report attributed Nigeria’s continued flaring largely to inadequate gas infrastructure, which limits the ability of operators to capture and commercialise associated gas produced alongside crude oil.
According to the World Bank, insufficient gas gathering, processing and transportation facilities remain major obstacles to reducing routine flaring.
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The report also cited ageing gas processing infrastructure and high facility downtime as factors contributing to elevated flaring levels.
“Inadequate infrastructure to transport associated gas to markets continues to limit gas utilisation,” the report noted.
Gas commercialisation agenda under pressure
The findings come despite Nigeria’s repeated commitments to eliminate routine gas flaring and maximise value from its vast gas resources.
Nigeria holds more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, making it one of Africa’s largest gas-rich nations.
Successive governments have introduced various programmes aimed at monetising flared gas, including the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), the Decade of Gas Initiative and incentives for gas infrastructure development.
However, industry experts say progress has been slower than expected due to financing constraints, infrastructure bottlenecks and regulatory challenges.
Lessons from global peers
The World Bank highlighted countries such as Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and the United States as examples of producers that successfully reduced flare volumes while maintaining production growth.
The report also found that countries participating in the Zero Routine Flaring (ZRF) initiative generally performed better than non-participating nations, although total flaring among participating countries still increased in 2025.
Analysts said Nigeria will need sustained investments in gas gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines and domestic gas markets if it hopes to significantly reduce flaring and unlock the full economic value of its gas resources.
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