House of Representatives, yesterday, said the country is currently losing $750 annually to gas flaring.
House Committee on Gas Resources Chairman, Nicholas Mutu, stated this at an investigative hearing organised by the joint Committee on Gas Resources, Environment and Climate Change on “the need to end gas flaring in Nigeria and harness associated gas.”
Mutu described gas flaring as a malady that must be eliminated at the shortest possible time,because of its adverse effect on the country.
According to him, gas flaring releases toxins into atmosphere, thereby increasing carbon emission and green house gases with attendant climate change consequences to the environment.
“Gas flaring is a malady that we must work together to eliminate at the shortest time possible because of its all-round adverse effects on the environment and socio-economic well-being of the people of Niger Delta as well as on the fiscal measures of the Federal Government.
“At current estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nigeria loses over $750 million in annual revenue from flared gas.
“The gas that is being flared is feedstock for other industries, which if properly harnessed would stimulate economic growth, create jobs and provide income for midstream companies and earn revenue for government through taxes,” Mutu said.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipreye Sylva, said the Federal Government is working to end gas flaring in 2025.
Sylva said: “The issue of gas flaring is something that the ministry take very seriously. There is a global consensus on the elimination of gas flaring by 2025. Today, we have reduced the issue of gas flaring to a minimum eight percent.
“We believe, with all the programmes lined up, that we are on course to achieve complete elimination of gas flaring by 2025. We take the issue of gas flaring in the ministry very seriously.”
Earlier, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said though several talks about an end to gas flaring have been unfruitful in the past, the 9th House is committed to changing the narratives.
“The conversation about gas flaring in Nigeria has been going on for a long time. Unfortunately, those conversations have not yielded the desired results. We have not managed to end the environmental damage that results from gas flaring, and we are still deprived of the economic benefits of full utilisation of gas resources in our country.
“In this 9th House of Representatives, we intend to do everything we can to change this narrative. We will convene stakeholders to deliberate and resolve the policy disagreements and other issues that have mitigated against the effective utilisation of gas resources,” the speaker said.
Source: The Sun
