Nigeria lost N105.9bn to gas flaring in six months

Nigeria lost about $336.33 million in the first half of 2016, as oil and gas companies operating in the country flared 112.11 billion Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) of gas between January and June 2016,
according to data obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.” At the Nigerian Gas Company’s average
gas price of $ per $1,000 SCF of the
commodity, the flaring of 112.11 billion SCF translates to a loss of $336.33 million or N105.9 billion at current exchange rate. Giving a month-on-month, MoM, breakdown of the volume of gas flared by oil and gas companies in the period under review, the report stated that in January 2016, 22.32 billion SCF of the commodity was flared; 20.38 billion was flared in February; 20.11 billion SCF in March, while
in April, May and June, 18.7 billion SCF, 15.8 billion SCF and 14.8 billion SCF respectively were flared. NNPC, in its Monthly Financial and Operational Report for the month of June 2016, also stated that the country earned
$451.24 million or N142.14 billion, from gas export in H1'16. In addition, the NNPC report stated that the country earned N13.528 billion from domestic sale of gas in the period under review. The report further stated: “The MoM
breakdown of the amount earned from gas export in H1'16 showed that the country raked in $135.89 million, $72.53 million, $2.28 million, $131.17 million, $60.25 million and $49.12 million, in
January, February, March, April, May and June 2016, respectively.
“However, all the proceeds from gas export, including proceeds from crude oil export in the period under review were utilised for the NNPC Joint Venture Cash Call payments, with zero remittance to the Federation Account.” In the area of domestic gas sales for the
six-month period, the report noted that the country earned N880.31 million, N944.4 million, N2.53 billion, N3.66 billion, N2.45 billion and N3.06 billion respectively in the months January through June. Furthermore, in its analysis of
commercialised and utilised gas, the report disclosed that out of a total of 1.35 trillion SCF of gas produced in the six-month period, 157.54 billion SCF was utilised in the domestic market; 591.88
billion SCF was exported, while 603.01 billion SCF was not commercialised, as they were either re-injected, used as fuel gas or flared. Also, giving an analysis of gas utilisation for the 12-month period, between July 2015 and June 2016, the report stated
that total gas supply for the 12-month period stood at 363.19 billion SCF and 1.219 trillion SCF for the domestic and export markets respectively. The report added that between July 2015
and June 2016, average gas supply to power plants in the country stood at 650 million SCF per day to generate 2,825 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
“A total of 327 million SCF per day was delivered to the gas fired power plants in the month of June 2016 to generate an average power of about 1,483 MW of
electricity.”