Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is set to begin the execution of two projects worth $4 billion aimed at finally ending gas flaring in its oil locations in Nigeria.
The two projects are known as Forcados Yokri and Southern Swamps.
This was revealed by the general manager, communications (GMC), Phillip Mshelbila while giving a general overview of SPDC operations at a one-day seminar with practising journalists in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Wednesday.
Mshelbila said the two projects should put an end to the vexed issue of gas flaring by knocking off the remaining 20 percent of gas flared, saying between 2000 and now, 80 percent of gas flaring has been curtailed.
He said SPDC has pursued a gas utilisation scheme instead of re-injection approach to mop up the gas being flared. This, according to him, led to huge gas utilisation projects such as the $12 billion Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project on Bonny Island that gathered gas from 120 locations and liquefies it for export.
Read also: Delta to conduct council elections soon
Mshelbila said gas flaring is not expected to be 100 percent absent because of what he called operational flaring but assured that the remaining flare would be far within world standards.
He explained that cost of producing oil in the deep waters and offshore was far higher than cost in the onshore, saying offshore required a lot of helicopter operations, platforms or vessel rigs, etc.
“Some locations such as Bonga oil field are as far as 120km distance in the waters, making it difficult to access by boat”.
The GMC mentioned the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as one of the challenges facing oil exploration and exploitation in Nigeria, saying the delay and the content all pose a huge challenge.
According to him, the fiscal requirements in the Bill make it disincentive for investments while the delay creates huge uncertainty in the industry which also makes investors to go to certain jurisdictions.
