Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Federal Government has approved new regulations to end the nefarious practices of flaring natural gas by oil producing and prospecting companies in the country.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, in Calabar during the opening of the technical meeting of officers and experts for the 3rd National Council on Hydrocarbons organised by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Yemi-Esan said government is committed to reducing global carbon emissions and climate change effects on the Nigerian environment and also unlock the huge potential inherent in the Nigerian hydro-carbon industry.
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She said, “the National Gas Flaring Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), which was unveiled during the Nigeria/World Bank/IGU workshop on gas flare is part of Nigeria’s contribution towards reducing global carbon emissions and climate change effects on the environment.
“I am pleased to inform you that Mr. President has also approved the ‘Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations 2018’ as the regulatory instrument that will underpin the implementation of the NGFCP.
“Also, the Nigeria LNG in July signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with B7 JV Consortium and the SCD JV Consortium in London. The signing of agreement was welcomed by Mr. President, noting that the additional Train 7 would increase the country’s gas production from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 metric million tonnes per annum,” she said.
She further disclosed that as part of the plans to unlock some of the potential opportunities in the industry, the government plans step up ongoing efforts in critical areas in the industry, which include accelerating the development of gas infrastructure along gas corridors to boost gas supply to locations rife with oil and gas activities, among others.