The Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has reported that Nigeria lost more than $14.6 billion worth of revenue to more than 4.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas flared between 2012 and 2021, in addition to the $8.3 billion loss in a penalty for the wastages.
The NOSDRA’s Director of ICT, Mrs. Margaret Adeshida, gave these figures during an interactive forum involving the agency’s team and delegations from Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in Abuja, recently.
She explained that the ugly development underscored the need for proper monetization of gas flaring in the nation’s hydrocarbon resources industry.
A statement issued on Monday by the Public Relations Officer of the RMAFC, Mr. Nwachukwu Christian, on the discussions at the forum, partly reads: “Earlier, the Director of ICT in NOSDRA, Mrs. Margaret Adeshida underscored the need for proper monitisation of gas flaring in Nigeria, noting that the country flared more than 4.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas leading to Nigeria’s loss of more than $14.6 billion worth of revenue between 2012 and 2021.
“This is in addition to $8.3 billion dollars loss in penalty for the wastage totalling $22.9 billion dollars loss within the same period.”
According to the fiscal commission’s spokesperson, the RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu, agreed to partner the NUPRC and NOSDRA to boost revenue generation through proper management of gas flaring in line with global best practice.
He noted that in view of the concerted effort of the current government to shore up the nation’s revenue generation, the gas sector of the economy must be given adequate attention with NUPRC and NOSDRA as regulatory bodies in determining quality and quantities of gas production alongside adherence to environmental standards for host communities.
In his remarks at the interactive session, the Director of Economic Regulation and Strategic planning of NUPRC, Mr. Babajide Fashina, maintained that Nigeria was fully committed to managing gas flaring in line with global best practices for economic growth and sustainability.
To achieve this, he hinted that the government had introduced a metering system and calibration of the meters for accurate records of gas management, adding that this has helped in reducing gas flaring in Nigeria from 40% to about seven percent now.
