The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has announced a two years time line for the complete eradication of gas flaring in Nigeria.

This was disclosed by the Group Managing Director Dr. Maikanti Baru, while delivering the lead paper on a panel session at the ongoing 50th Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), in Houston, United States of America.

Dwelling on the theme: “Nigeria’s Gas Flare Commercialisation, Prospects & Opportunities” said “Total flares have significantly reduced to current levels of about 800mm scfd and in the next 1-2 years we would have completely ensured zero routine flares from all the gas producers”.

He announced a three-point strategy aimed at ending gas flaring in the nation’s Oil and Gas Industry explaining that in the last decade, gas flaring in Nigeria had reduced significantly from 25% to 10%.

The multi-pronged approach taken by the NNPC he said would ensure a sustainable solution to the historical problem of flaring, thereby turning waste into dollars.

The 3-point strategy championed by NNPC to arrest the growth in gas flares includes ensuring non-submission of Field Development Plans (FDPs) to the Industry Regulator – the Department Petroleum Resources (DPR), without a viable and executable gas utilization plan, a move aimed at ensuring no new gas flare in current and future projects.

The other two strategies, Baru added, were a steady reduction of existing flares through a combination of targeted policy interventions in the Gas Master-plan as well as the re-invigoration of the flare penalty through the 2016 Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) and through legislation, that is, ban on gas flaring via the recent Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations 2018.

This development, Baru added, would not only see Nigeria dropping from being the second highest gas flaring nation in the world to seventh, it would also signify a major milestone in its gas commercialization prospects.

According to him, NNPC has embarked on the most aggressive expansion of the gas infrastructure network aimed at creating access to the market.

“Today, we have completed and commissioned almost 600km of new gas pipelines thereby connecting all existing power plants to permanent gas supply pipeline. We are also currently completing the construction of the strategic 127km Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline – “OB 3” connecting the Eastern supply to the Western demand centres,” he added.

Baru further noted that aside looping Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS 2) gas pipeline projects to increase gas volume capacity to at least 2Bcf/day, the corporation has recently signed the contracts to kick off the 614Km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project, which on completion, would deliver gas to the ongoing power plants in the areas and revive the manufacturing industries in the northern part of the country.

He assured that there was evidence that the interventions undertaken by the corporation were working as gas supply to the domestic market is growing at an encouraging rate, having tripled from 500mmcf/d in 2010 to about 1500mmcf/d currently.

The NNPC boss said that the aggressive development of gas infrastructure (pipelines and processing plant) between supply sources and the market would also create a sustainable evacuation route for currently flared gas and other gas sources.

Earlier, speaking at a panel session on New Oil & Gas Horizons and Procurement Procurements in Sub-Saharan Africa, Baru maintained that huge opportunities abound in Nigeria’s Gas Sector, with the country expecting over $25 billion investments anticipated over the next 10 years.

He described the Nigerian Petroleum Industry as the largest and the most vibrant in Sub-Saharan Africa with lots of potentials, especially in the deep water and untapped gas resources.

Noting that Nigeria offers unique opportunities for investment in exploration, refining, storage, transportation, power, distribution and marketing of petroleum products, Dr. Baru further observed that the nation’s Gas Reform was anchored on a robust strategic framework that is focused on maximum economic impact through gas.