The House of Representatives has called on Multinational Oil Companies operating in the Niger Delta Region to stop the continuous activities of gas flaring and rather install equipment for capturing the associated gas, as is done elsewhere.
The House urged the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and other Regulatory bodies saddled with the responsibilities of ending gas flaring in Nigeria to ensure strict compliance with the “Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations 2018, as well as the implementation of the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).
The Green Chamber also mandated the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Up Stream and Down Stream) to ensure compliance.
These resolutions were reached during plenary on Wednesday, sequel to a motion on: ‘Need to End Gas Flaring in Nigeria and Harness Associated Gas, moved by Ben Igbakpa (PDP, Delta).
Igbakpa in his presentation of the motion noted that flaring of natural gas around the world contributes immensely to the scourge of climate change, with over 350 million tons of emissions each year.
He stated that a recent United Nations summit on climate change which held in New York on 23 September, 2019 was pursuant to a consistent global action plan to end gas flaring by 2030. He noted that Nigeria had become a signatory to the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), setting for herself a 2020 deadline to end gas flaring.
According to him, the House is “concerned that routine flaring of associated gas still goes on unabated in the Niger Delta area thereby posing severe environmental and health hazards to the people.
“Also aware that in the oil-rich Niger Delta, pollution related to gas flaring has been linked to cancer of the lung and other neurological and reproductive illnesses and gas flares are destroying crops and polluting the waters as well, and it has been estimated that 2 million people live within 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of gas flares in the Delta region.
“Also notes that during the rainy season, the rainwater is visibly black and in Port Harcourt and Warri for example, there were days of dark clouds hanging in the sky, so that noon may look like evening time,” he noted.
“Further notes that aside from the environmental and health risks posed by flaring of associated gas, gas flaring amounts to burning money and wasting of resources as the methane or the combusted type which is flared can be monetized as a revenue earner for Nigeria, as is now obtainable elsewhere.
“Informed that small Gas to Liquid (GTL) units are now an attractive option globally for monetizing associated petroleum gas which would otherwise have been flared and the World Bank Report estimated that about 50billion dollars’ worth of gas is being wasted to flaring annually.
“Also informed that with the use of modern technology, associated gas can be used to generate electricity.
“Concerned that since the year 2018 when President Muhammadu Buhari approved a legal framework called the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations, 2018, aimed at reducing Green House Gas through gas flaring, nothing visible has been achieved in this direction.
“Concerned that in spite of the framework above which provides the legal basis for implementation of the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP), which prohibits flare or vent of gas and imposes sanctions on defaulters, nothing concrete has been achieved to end gas flaring in Nigeria.
“Further aware that Nigeria stands to suffer more from the effects of climate change since our ozone layer is eroding fast due to incessant gas flare.
The motion was unanimously when put to a voice vote by Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila who presided over the plenary.
James Kwen, Abuja
