September 11, 2024

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Gas flaring
General News

Enforce anti-gas flaring regulations in Niger Delta, Nwoko tells FG

By Deborah Coker

Sen. Ned Nwoko has called on the Federal Government to urgently enforce the regulations on gas flaring and venting of natural gas in the Niger Delta region.

Nwoko who represent Delta North Senatorial District at the Senate, made the call on Tuesday, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja.

He said it was imperative to enforce the regulations, particularly as they affects Ndokwa land, in line with the provision in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

The PIA, among other provisions, demands strict adherence to a gas flaring and utilisation plans.

He said that in the petroleum industry, gas flaring represents the loss of raw natural gas when associated gas is extracted.

He explained that the loss may result from inadequate gas extraction, processing, and transportation infrastructure.

According to him, some oil and gas companies prefer to flare gas as it prevents the over-pressuring of their industrial plant equipment;

He further explained that gas flaring, a common practice in the oil and gas industry, was associated with wasted energy and causes lots environmental concerns.

He said it was a harmful practice which negatively impact on the host communities and a huge source of economic loss to the country.

He said the country’s the poor supervision of companies in the oil and gas sector, the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy had turned it into mixed bag of fortune for the citizens.

He said this was especially for the suffering experienced by host communities in Ndokwa East and West Local Government Areas, Ukwuani, and some parts of Effurun, all in Delta.

According to him, these communities are subjected to untold hardship and unabated health hazards caused by worsening gas flaring.

“Today, this harmful practice has resulted in the deaths of no fewer than 23 persons in the last six months, with many hospitalised due to excessive emissions of carbon dioxide in their communities.”

He, therefore, stressed the urgent need to stop gas flaring and enforce the anti-gas flaring regulations in the land.

Nwoko also sponsored a motion on “Urgent Need to Stop Gas Flaring and Enforce Anti-Gas Flaring Regulations in Ndokwa Land and the Niger Delta Region” in the Senate.

He called for increased penalty for gas flaring as a deterrent from further breach.

He also said that oil companies operating in Ndokwa land and the entire Niger Delta region should be directed to immediately switch to OP16 Gas Turbine.

The turbine uses advanced combustion technology to significantly reduce emission, ensuring a greener, more sustainable flaring solution, and effective resource management.

“Also the Federal Government should ensure that the estimated 2 million dollars per day lost to gas flaring be converted and commercialised to fund the national budget conveniently without resorting to borrowing.

“They should also be made to pay the sum of N100 billion naira only as compensation to the victims of gas flaring in Ndokwa land and the entire Niger Delta region.

“They should also ensure that the devastated environment is restored without further delay,” the Nwoko said.

He further called on the Senate Committee (Upstream and Downstream) to liaise with the Nigeria National petroleum Corporation Limited and other relevant agencies to ensure immediate and total compliance with the Zero flaring routine. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Uche Anunne

HRH Malik Ado Ibrahim, CEO and Chairman, NIGUS International (Left) and Mr Yung Ruming, CEO, Beijing Zhogmin Xinjunlong New Energy Technology Co. Ltd after the $1bn deal signing on flare gas solutions
Oil & Gas

Chinese, Nigerian firms sign $1bn gas flaring deal

By Emmanuella Anokam

A Chinese firm, Beijing Zhogmin Xinjunlong New Energy Technology Company Ltd. and NIGUS International, a Nigerian firm, have signed a $1 billion agreement to fund and develop gas flaring solutions for Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the pact signing held on Friday in Abuja, was in the light of the national directive from President Bola Tinubu.

The deal which is monumental to Nigeria will help to end gas flaring and introduce Nigeria into the world of Green Sustainable Energy Production.

Speaking at the agreement signing, HRH Malik Ado Ibrahim, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of NIGUS, said the partnership with the Chinese company was aimed at imbibing its new state of the art technology profile to convert flared gas for commercial use.

This new technology, according to him, will create Gas-to-Liquid (GTL), (synthetic diesel to galvanise energy mix), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for export and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas), among others.

NAN reports that the GTL technology is a process that converts natural gas, the cleanest burning fossil fuel to high quality liquid fuels such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

“The joint ventures is about NIGUS, as a renewable energy company, joining forces with the technology that allows us to bring clean climate economy to Nigeria and create value from what we are wasting at the moment to generate lower pricing energy.

“We seem not to be contributing to the carbon footprint; we flare a lot of our gas, and about 90 per cent of what we produce in Nigeria in being flared, not utilising the gas.

“We are bringing to play a very modern, state of the art technology by joining forces with China to create wealth and carbon neutrality, then generate lower price energy.

“The project is to demonstrate the president’s wish to utilise flared gas and this technology will put his wishes into action.

“The GTL will allow us to turn the gas into liquid and to create LNG. The paradigm shift is that we will be able to imbed the technology where it is needed rather than adding infrastructural cost,” he said.

He explained that the packaging would be beneficial to Nigeria in terms of job creation for economic growth and development.

“If Nigeria is able to push this technology, we can get some global green funds. We expect that our carbon footprint and neutrality profile will allow the joint ventures to access the kind of funds Mr President will make available for Nigeria,” he said.

Mr Yung Ruming, the Chief Executive Officer, Beijing Zhogmin Xinjunlong New Energy Technology Company Ltd., while expressing readiness for the partnership, said its technical team and equipment would be deployed to actualise the project.

Ruming thanked the Federal Government for giving the company the opportunity to carry out the work.

He noted that Nigeria and China had enjoyed good relationship in the past years, hence the project would be of immense benefit to Nigerians. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Oil theft, an organised crime in the Niger Delta region
Oil & Gas

FG tasks oil experts on solutions to local industry challenges

By Emmanuella Anokam

The Federal Government has tasked oil and gas experts to proffer permanent solutions to challenges ranging from low productivity, oil theft, pipeline vandalism and gas flaring in the local oil industry.

Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), made the call on Monday in Abuja, at the opening of the third Biennial International Conference on Hydrocarbon Science and Technology (ICHST 2023).

The conference, organised by the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) and hosted by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), aimed at resuscitating the observable decline in the nation’s oil production and embracing innovative research as practiced by the developed nations.

Lokpobiri said Nigeria had played major roles in the global oil industry and Africa in particular, hence the need to sustain its position.

“Nigeria has been a big player in the oil and gas industry both in Africa and globally. For us to sustain our place globally, we need to tackle challenges and key into what is trending globally.

“My expectations at the end of this conference is for us to come up with home grown solutions to address our problems in the petroleum industry.

“Nigeria have so many problems in the industry, I believe that the conference would come up with solutions to address those challenges and also produce document that will be implementable,” he said.

Also speaking, Dr Henry Adimula Principal/Chief Executive, PTI, said the conference underscored the need to shape the destiny of Nigeria’s oil/gas industry.

Adimula added that the essence of the conference was to explore, dissect, and contribute to a future teeming with possibilities.

He acknowledged the pioneering research conducted by the PTI which had substantially influenced the discussions.

“PTI’s development of economic models for gas investment, spanning the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, and creation of Modified Unit Technical Cost Model for oil and gas investment, ensures precise determination of the cost to produce a standard cubic foot of gas.

“These achievements underscore PTI’s dedication to innovative and environmentally responsible hydrocarbon resource utilisation,” he said.

Adimula said its collaborative research with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Research and Development Division had resulted in steps towards efficient storage system for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in powered tricycles.

According to him, this pioneering initiative marks a substantial stride towards sustainable energy solutions and cleaner transportation methods.

He said its strides in research and innovation also yielded results especially in securing a patent for the ‘Method of Improving the Rheological Properties of Potassium-Based Bentonite Clay’ under Nigerian Patent No NG/P/2020/200 as duly registered with the Nigerian Patents and Designs Registry.

These innovations, he said, reflected its steadfast dedication to sustainable and eco-friendly practices, serving as a testament to our unwavering commitment to pioneering research and development.

Mr Ahmed Aminu, the Executive Secretary PTDF, represented by Mrs Ifeoma Nwokike, General Manager Projects, in his address said the oil/gas sector, especially in Nigeria, was at an intersection of complex challenges and unprecedented opportunities.

According to Aminu, the industry grapples with a myriad of issues, from technological hurdles, research limitations, and the dwindling landscape of investments and finance.

The situation, he said underscored the importance of bolstering research funding and technological development to boost the sector.

“The imminent commencement of the Dangote Oil Refinery, the completion of pivotal pipeline infrastructure like the AKK, and the production initiatives at Komani oil field in Northern Nigeria, present a hopeful panorama of opportunities that can reinvigorate the industry,” he said.

In his keynote address, Dr Omar Ibrahim, the Secretary-General, African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO), identified the biggest victims of a speedy energy transition as the developing countries, especially those from Africa.

Ibrahim said the organisation had played major role in the sector by identifying three imminent challenges namely technology, expertise and markets.

“To create this future, the APPO Ministerial Council approved the recommendations of the APPO Long Term Strategy Committee to take three practical steps to address the imminent challenges,” he said.

The theme of the conference is: ‘The Future of the Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities, Challenges and Development’. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

A section of the Dangote refinery in Lagos
Oil & Gas

Dangote Refinery: Firm completes installation of 18 ultrasonic flare gas metres

By Emmanuella Anokam

Fluenta, a global leader in ultrasonic sensing technology for measurement of flare gas says it has completed installation of 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the Dangote Refinery Plant in Nigeria.

Mr Radek Kurkowski, a Director at Fluenta, said on Thursday that it spent more than four months working with its exclusive Nigerian representative, Daptem Engineering, and the Dangote project team to deliver a workable, accurate and reliable flare measurement solution.

Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery inaugurated in May 2023 has the capacity of refining 650,000 barrels of oil per day, enough to meet Nigeria’s daily fuel supply requirements, with a daily surplus of 38 million litres of refined products, already earmarked for export.

Kurkowski in a statement said that the team implemented a multitude of innovative and bespoke solutions considered on a case-by-case basis to ensure accuracy of the system.

“Under current Nigerian law, companies refining oil and gas must pay a ‘tax’ for flared gas, to encourage an overall reduction in flaring, underlining the importance of Fluenta’s accurate, trustworthy flare measurement and management.

“Flare gas measurement and control is vital to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and to help identify potential safety hazards.

“This is especially true at a plant on this never-before-seen scale and with the world’s largest flare pipe.

“Delivering this solution meant some close work with our local partner and the client project team, and we are delighted with the end result – which will support bringing energy security to Nigeria and the wider Africa region.

“Our team used a range of state-of-the-art technology, adapted meter software and special pipe gaskets and ball valves to deliver the pipe flare gas measurement solution,” he said.

He said Fluenta’s work stood as testament to the power of innovation, creative teamwork and a desire to always meet the client’s needs, adding that it was proud to support the domestic security of energy supply in Nigeria.

According to him, Fluenta has deep experience of working in Africa. In 2017, the company was approached by an International Oil Company (IOC) working in Nigeria, which was looking for a reliable flare measurement solution.

He said it developed bespoke solutions in response to the IOC’s requirements, which were installed in 2019 and since then, the IOC had ordered an additional 32 Fluenta flare measurement meters.

He said Fluenta would be speaking further on the challenges of combustion efficiency and industry challenges to track methane emissions from flaring at Nigeria Hydrocarbon Measurement Conference (NiHMEC), taking place in Lagos, from Oct. 4 to Oct. 5, 2023.

He further said that Nigerian authorities were leading the charge in the control and regulation of flaring gas, looking towards eliminating the need for routine flaring over the next few years.

However, he said, a key component in that challenge was accurate measurement.

Nigeria is positioning itself as a world-leader when it comes to reducing its emissions, and flaring – the controlled burning or combustion of excess or waste gases that cannot be processed or captured for productive use.

This is a safety and environmental practice employed in the petroleum industry to prevent release of potentially harmful or combustible gases into the atmosphere.

Flare measurement in a refinery is essential, from a regulatory and environmental law compliance perspective, and for accurate emissions monitoring. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vincent Obi

Gas flaring
Oil & Gas , Politics

Reps begin probe into $2.5bn annual loss to gas flaring

By Eric James Ochigbo

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas has inaugurated an Ad hoc Committee to investigate alleged 9.05 billion dollar-revenue loss from gas flaring in the last one decade in Nigeria.

Abbas, at the inauguration of the House ad hoc committee on Gas Flaring on Monday, charged the committee to get root causes of gas flaring and make recommendations to end the menace.

He said that the probe is an acknowledgement of the urgent need to understand and mitigate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of this practice.

“The task before this ad hoc vommittee 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,” he said.

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

According to him, 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.

Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Babba Munir (APC-Kaduna state) said that the members were representing the interest of all Nigerians.

He said that the issue of gas flaring had lingered for decades despite several undertakings by oil companies to stop it.

“We are here to give everyone a fair hearing, to know where the loopholes are, where we need to twike our laws to ensure we get optimal result.

“We do not have to revisit how important it is to our revenue drive needed for infrastructure, security, education and health.

“It is a win win situation for even the oil companies, because if revenues are generated, it was spent on securing our nation, on infrastructure that will better their operations.

“We are insisting and putting our feet down that all agencies of government and oil companies.

“Once you are invited, we expect you to come with your full submissions and with the highest representation of your organisation,” he said.

The committee invited Total/Mobil V Domestic wing, Total/Oando JV, Total Energies, African Petroleum (AP) Pic. now Ardova PLC to appear before or on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Others are Azman Oil and Gas Limited, Matrix Oil And Gas Shata Ltd, 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 LTD.

NAN reports that the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) said Nigeria lost N891bn to gas flaring in 18 months.

Aaccording to data from NOSDRA on Aug. 8, 2022 Nigeria lost a total of N707bn in 2021 and N184bn in the first half of 2022, totaling N891bn.

According to the NOSDRA report, oil and gas companies operating in the country flared a total of 126 billion standard cubic feet, SCF, of gas in the first half of 2022, leading to a loss of $441.2 million, (about N183.54 bn) in the six-month period.

On the other hand, the agency said, in 2021, about 23,862.271 barrels of oil (3,770,238.864 litres/119 tanker trucks) were spilled.

Giving a breakdown of the gas flared in the country in the first six months of 2022, the agency disclosed that while companies operating in the offshore oilfields flared 62.2 billion SCF of gas, companies operating onshore flared 63.9 billion SCF of gas, valued at $223.6 million.

In 2021, there were around 382 publicly available oil spill records. Out of the 382 occurrences, a total of 33 of these oil spill sites were not visited by a joint investigation team, and 122 of these had no estimated quantity of oil spilled provided by the companies involved.

Two major oil spills were recorded in 2021, with over 250 barrels spilled into inland waters, or over 2,500 barrels spilled on land, swamp, shoreline and open sea, the report said.

A total of seven medium oil spills incidents were recorded in 2021, with 25-250 barrels spilled into inland waters, or 250-2,500 barrels spilled on land, swamp, shoreline and open sea.

In terms of minor oil spills, about 239 cases were recorded as up to 25 barrels spilled into inland waters, or 250 barrels on land, swamp, shoreline and open sea.  (NAN)(www.nannews,ng)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza

Economy/Business , Oil & Gas

Nigeria on course to end gas flaring by 2025 — minister

By EricJames Ochigbo

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva says Nigeria is on course to end gas flaring by 2025.

Sylva made this known on Monday at a Public Hearing on gas flaring organised by the House of Representatives on Monday in Abuja.

The minister said that the public hearing was an opportunity to update the records and to bring stakeholders up to speed.

He said that elimination of gas flaring was an issue the ministry was taking seriously, saying that the ministry was committed to achieving the global consensus on elimination of gas flaring by 2025.

“Today, we have actually reduced gas flaring significantly to a very minimal level of eight per cent.

“If you all recall, in 2020, the ministry of petroleum started what we call the National Gas Expansion Programme and we declared year 2020 as the year of gas.

“At the beginning of this year, we also declared year 2021 the beginning of the gas decade. We believe that with all the programmes we have in place, we are on course to achieving complete elimination of gas flaring by year 2025,” he said.

The minister recalled that in December 2020, the ministry rolled out a gas penetration programme.

Sylva said that the ministry was aggressively pursuing it to attain total elimination and utilisation of gas that was being flared today.

Also speaking, the Minister of Environment, Mr Muhammed Abubakar said that gas flaring was one environmental challenge a lot had been said about.

Represented by the Director of Environment, Mr Abah Suleman, Abubakar said that gas flaring leads to global warming.

“The fear that the earth might snowball into a runaway greenhouse effect as we have on planet Venus is one of the major reasons why it has been globally accepted that all hands must be on deck to ensure that gas flares are totally put out.

“The Federal Government has made commitments to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through our intended national determined contribution.

“The Ministry of Environment is highly desirous and have been giving support to the Ministry of Petroleum in this regard.

“As far back as 2003 when the ministry along some oil companies pushed for the use of compressed natural gas, which went comatose.

“I am happy to say that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has kick-started the programme,” he said.

Abubakar said that the ministry had embarked on a programme that would accurately track gas flaring across the country.

He pledged the ministry’s support to enforce all laws and policies to ensure that Nigeria meets its global commitments on gas.

The General Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari, said that gas had value.

According to him, converting gas to value is so attractive and this is what we are doing today so we can use gas to develop our country, create wealth and opportunity.

He said that no one would want to flare gas when it could be commercialised but there must be a perfect framework to achieve that.

According to him, we are building major trunk lines that will receive most of the flared gas you are seeing today.

“We are connecting most part of the country to the gas network so that people can convert this gas either for power or industrial use and we hope to achieve this by the end of March.

“It is business that makes people invest, no matter how much penalty you put, if the cost of the penalty is cheaper than the cost of developing the gas that may not be commercial, people will continue to flare gas and pay the penalty.

“You can raise the penalty to any number and what it does, it completely makes people not to invest in anything, so increasing the penalty is not the solution.

“The solution is to clear the commercial towns that will enable companies invest in these flare so that we can convert them into money,” he said.

He said that the harm gas flaring was doing to communities and the environment would go away if commercialised.

The GMD pledged to work with the National Assembly to put in place every structure that was required to end gas flaring in the country. (NAN)

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