Niger Delta
Gas Flare Falls 0.33% In Q1 2021 To 45.33BCF
Gas flare in Nigeria’s oil fields fell by 0.33 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 to 45.33billion cubic feet, BCF, compared to 45.48BCF of gas flared in the fourth quarter of last year; latest data from the industry have shown.
Data also showed that on a year-on-year basis, gas flare dropped by 21.75 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 from the 57.93BCF recorded in the first quarter of 2020.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), monthly report for February, 2021, data also showed that in 24 months, from March, 2019 to February, 2021, a total of 430.97BCF of gas have been flared.
This is equivalent to 1,720 Giga Watts of power lost in two years, according to power generation expert, Dr Stephen Ogaji of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited.
As part of the effort to curb gas flaring in the country, the Federal Government in December, 2016, launched the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation programme.
The NGFCP was designed as the strategy to implement the policy objectives of the government for the elimination of gas flares with potentially enormous multiplier and development outcomes for Nigeria.
The objective of the NGFCP is to eliminate gas flaring through technically and commercially sustainable gas utilization projects developed by competent third-party investors who will be invited to participate in a competitive and transparent bid process for flare sites.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which manages the programme, in a statement explained that the commercialisation approach has been considered from legal, technical, economic, commercial and developmental standpoints.
“It is a unique and historic opportunity to attract major investment in economically viable gas flare capture projects whilst permanently addressing a 60-year environmental problem in Nigeria.
“The NGFCP has offered flare gas for sale through a transparent and competitive bidding process.
“A structure has been devised to provide project bankability for the Flare Gas Buyers, which is essential to the success of the programme”.
Latest data from the programme, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), showed that so far 203 companies have been awarded the right to process flared gas from the 178 gas flared sites.
Speaking on the programme at the weekend, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr BitrusNabasu, noted that despite the slow pace of progress, the Federal Government was determined to end gas flares in the country.
“The process is still on and our intention is to reduce gas flaring as much as possible so that the environment will be safe for us. The process is on and very soon it will be concluded”, he explained.
DPR in its gas flare regulation stated that “flare payments shall apply to any natural gas that is flared and/or vented at the production facilities of the producers”.
Figures from the 2019 Oil and Gas Audit Report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), showed that companies paid $307,591 in 2019 as gas flare penalties in the country.
In an interview with newsmen, GNPC Petroleum Commerce Chair in Oil and Gas Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Prof. WumiIledare, said a lot of investment was needed to end gas flaring in the country.
Iledare, however, observed that gas flaring has gradually gone down in the past few years, accounting for less than 10 per cent of total gas production.
He explained that “there are some gas flaring that cannot be eliminated if you have to keep things running but we must give credit to the Department of Petroleum Resources with respect to gas flaring.
“It is below 10 per cent right now. I still understand that is still the equivalent of about 3,000megawatts of electricity generation”.
He noted that “the investment required to be able to get gas to end-users is massive and it is going, to begin with, a good perception of public policy.
“Unfortunately, the perception of the Public Policy Index, PPI, is still very low. And until governance of the oil and gas industry is properly defined and all these amorphous regulatory agencies well defined, a risk-averse person will not invest in this type of business environment.
“This gas flaring that people are talking about, the opportunity cost to taking the gas to end-users is massive and there must be guarantee return on investment. If it is not there nobody will invest”, he added.
Speaking on the gas flare situation, the President of the Nigerian Association of Energy Economics (NAEE), Prof YinkaOmorogbe, noted that the Federal Government must demonstrate the political will to end gas flaring in the country by first ending the use of gas flare penalty as a source of revenue.
Omorogbe stated that the penalty must be seen as a punitive measure and strong enough to deter companies from flaring gas.
According to her, “We have to have the political will to not flare gas even if it means shutting down certain fields that are producing right now.
“Secondly, you have to seriously pursue your gas utilization projects and ensure that the gas utilization projects are using up associated gas that would otherwise be flared.
“Thirdly, you need to ensure that you don’t turn the associated gas penalties into money-making ventures but instead make them incredibly punitive. So punitive that it is better to shut down than to flare.
“So, the first thing is the political will to say I really don’t want this flaring anymore. Once you do that everything else will fall into place.
“It is going to cost us something first in the beginning but there has to be the determination to end it. It will also help us to reduce carbon emission on one side to offset emission on another side”, she explained.
On his part, the Director, Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan,Prof. AdeolaAdenikinju, also stated that the Federal Government must demonstrate the will to end gas flaring in the country.
Adenikinju held that once there is political will and clear policy to end gas flare, it would create incentives for investment because it will create opportunities for infrastructure that would utilize the gas.
“The government must create incentives for private capital to go in and create investments that would support infrastructure and utilization of the gas because it doesn’t pay you to shut down production and get zero production because you are flaring. So, you have to create solutions and those solutions are created by the market.
“So once, the policy is there and there is the conviction that the policy is not going to be reversed it automatically generates incentives for private capital investments and infrastructure that will also follow. That is the starting point, we must be ready to want to end gas flaring”, he stressed.
Dufugha, however, expressed resentment over what he described as stringent measures against assessing the State’s Students Loan Scheme, especially for the common citizens.
He made the observations while briefing journalists at the Earliest Ikoli Press Centre, Ekeki, in Yenagoa, the State capital.
“I commend the Governor for the relative peace in the state owing to his approach to the security of lives and properties in the State.
“For now, the police in Bayelsa State is using drones to monitor red flag areas that can cause security breaches and that has really encouraged the peace in the State.
“The security situation has improved and we commend the government for that. We cannot deny the fact that there is relative peace in the State”, he said.
On the State’s students loan, the publisher accused the scheme of having elitist posture due to its accessibility process.
He argued that it would be difficult for the ordinary Bayelsan to provide a Level-17 civil servant as guarantor to be able to benefit from the scheme, describing it as a systemic denial of the less privileged.
He noted that the loan was supposed to be a succour to indigent Bayelsa parents and students who could not assess education easily, noting that such persons should not be made to face cumbersome situations before assessing the financial instrument.
On road infrastructure, the Niger Delta Herald Publisher and Editor-in-chief praised the Diri’s administration on the work done on the three senatorial district roads and tasked the government to do more.
Dufugha, who described Bayelsa State as a wealthy State, asserted that the oil rich state needed to see more developmental strides comparative to its current financial status.
“Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We’re an oil producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We have access to enormous public resources.
“We receive interventions. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking, what exactly are we getting for our money? Where are the industries? Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions? Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the economic diversification?,” he argued.
He enjoined the government to redouble effort in the education and health subsectors, adding that it would pay the state a lot if there were centres for the treatment of critical health cases such as cancer and others in order to save lives and avoid capital flight.
The Publisher urged the Senator Diri-led government and the public not to misunderstand his message as hatred or personal issues with the Governor, but see it as a constitutional and professional duty to hold government accountable.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Peter Akpe, stated this rexently when he received the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in ernment House, Yenagoa.
charge of Bayelsa and Rivers States, during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa.
Akpe said the general perception of those in politics has always been that of corruption, but noted that the position of the Douye Diri-led Prosperity Administration is non-tolerance for corruption.
Akpe, who frowned at the habit of writing unfounded petitions against individuals and groups, said the heap of petition files from Bayelsa State at the ICPC was several times higher than that from any other state in the country.
He reminded residents that writing unjustifiable petitions to anti-graft agencies is not only a bad culture, but also attracts jail penalty, and assured the ICPC of the state government’s support to improve public enlightenment.
“Our government is a government that believes in zero tolerance for corruption; that is why we are always open to interact with you and other anti-graft agencies.
“Usually, there is this issue of negative perception of politics and politicians. But it is not true that every politician is corrupt. We have a good number of people in politics that are not corrupt, and we believe that a good percentage of them are in this government.
“The issue of petitions at the ICPC: What we observed was that the heap of files from Bayelsa were 10 times higher than the ones from even Lagos, and 15 more times than the ones from Sokoto and other states.
“That is quite disturbing. More so, most of those petitions were ion, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he saidfrivolous.
From a personal experience, I can tell you that most of the petitions are extremely frivolous. While we will never tolerate corruption, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he said.
Earlier in her remarks, the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner in charge of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Dr. Ekere Usiere, highlighted the statutory mandate of the ICPC, stressing that its mission was to carry out sensitisation on the ills of corruption in the Nigerian society.
Usiere, who expressed concern at the volume of petitions currently before the ICPC emanating from communities in Bayelsa over the management of the PIA funds, expressed the commission’s desire to partner the Bayelsa State Ministry of Information to carry out sensitisation programmes.
The ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner was accompanied on the visit by Assistant Chief Superintendent, Mr. Evans Peters; Principal Superintendent, Mr. Emmanuel Akpor; Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Tamaraudoubra Ebebi; and the Administrative Officer, Mr. Frank Yileaziba.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, gave the advice during a commission-wide staff interactive session with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and insurance companies at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement signed and issued by Seledi Thompson-Wakama
Director, Corporate Affairs, Nwelue said the programme, approved by the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was organised to sensitise staff on pension schemes and provide them with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about their retirement savings.
He particularly urged newly recruited employees to acquaint themselves with the operations and responsibilities of various PFAs before choosing an administrator to manage their pension contributions.
According to him, pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries, alongside employers’ contributions, constitute long-term savings designed to provide financial support after retirement.
He urged staff to carefully assess the information provided by the participating pension administrators and choose the option best suited to their long-term financial interests.
Nwelue stressed that employees were at liberty to select their preferred pension administrator, noting that the interactive session provided an opportunity for the various companies to explain their products, services and benefits.
Also speaking, a Director in the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. James Fole, said the programme was aimed at deepening employees’ understanding of pension, insurance and other financial instruments that could improve their financial wellbeing during and after active service.
Fole warned that inadequate preparation for retirement could expose employees to financial hardship in their post-service years.
He said: “That is not what the Managing Director, Executive Management and the entire management want for our staff. We want to see a situation where retirees enjoy a reasonable level of comfort, knowing that the Commission has contributed to their future.”
He added that equipping employees with appropriate financial knowledge while they were still in active service remained critical to achieving a financially secure retirement.
Several pension and insurance companies participated in the interactive session.
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