Yemisi Izuora/Ijeoma Agudosi
A new data from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has revealed that Nigeria lost about $359.01 million (N71.8Bn) to gas flaring in the first of 2015.
The NNPC’s Monthly Petroleum Information, (MPI), from January to March 2015, showed that oil and gas companies produced 668.247 billion standard cubic feet, SCF of gas out of which they utilised 548.58 billion SCF and flared 119.67 billion SCF.
The figure represented 17.9 per cent of the total gas produced in the period under review.
Using the Nigerian Gas Company’s, NGC, average gas price of $3 per 1,000 SCF gas at the current exchange rate realities, the flaring of 119.67 billion SCF gas translated to a loss of $359.01 million, an equivalent of N71.8 billion.
A further breakdown of the flares volumes and value lost showed that in January, 48.372 billion SCF was flared amounting to $145.12 million/N29.02 billion loss, while in
February, 41.188 billion SCF was flared and $123.56 million/N24.71 billion lost.
March figure showed that 30.11 billion SCF was flared and $90.33 million/N18.07 billion lost.
Furthermore, the MPI identified the Sole Risks/Independent oil companies and Service Contract, as the worst offenders in January, flaring 98.07 per cent of their total gas production.
Specifically, Sole Risk/Independents produced 19.464 billion SCF gas, utilised 376.42 million and flared 19.09 billion SCF, while the Contract Service sector, comprising only Agip Energy and Natural Resources, AENR, flared 472.3 million SCF gas, utilised only 9.3 million SCF of its 481.6 million SCF total gas production.
Seplat Petroleum, Prime Exploration, Niger Delta Western and First Hydrocarbon flared the gas in January; each flared 100 per cent of its total gas production. Platform Petroleum flared 99.72 per cent of its total gas, while Express Petroleum flared 99.25 per cent.
In February, the Sole Risks/Independents sector and Service Contract sector remained the worst offenders, flaring 98.16 per cent and 93.64 per cent of their total gas production respectively.
The Independents produced 19.58 billion SCF of gas, utilised 369.78 million SCF and flared 19.22 billion SCF, while AENR, the sole company in the Service Contract sector, produced 1.37 billion SCF gas, utilised 87.03 million SCF and flared 1.28 billion SCF.
Pan Ocean, Seplat Petroleum, First Hydrocarbon, Niger Delta Western, Energia Limited, and Prime Exploration were the highest offenders, as they flared 100 per cent of their total gas production.
In March, Joint Venture Companies, produced 135.14 billion SCF gas, flared 15.9 billion SCF and utilised 119.24 billion SCF; Production Sharing Companies flared 7.75 billion SCF of their 52.78 billion SCF gas, and utilised 45.02 billion SCF.
Independents trailed in terms of quantity, as they produced 23.45 billion SCF, utilised 19.24 billion and flared 4.21 billion SCF.
The NNPC, had in its Annual Statistical Bulletin, ASB, for 2014, disclosed that the country lost up to $868.8 million, about N173.76 billion to gas flaring in 2014.