Over 800 firms have bidded to stop gas flaring in Nigeria, said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources yesterday.
The ministry noted that it has identified 176 gas flare points in the country.
It was made known in Abuja during a press conference on journey so far on the Nigeria gas flare Commercialization Programme.
The Minister Dr. Ibe Kachikwu insisted said that the country has already achieved 75 per cent stoppage of gas flare out.
According to him, the ministry is working torward achieving the zero gas flare policy 100 percent by next year.
He said that “The 2020 deadline is the aspirations we have set for ourselves.However,we have the 2030 United Nation’s deadline. We have commenced quite a number of programmes even before the United Nation’s target of 2030.”
Continuing, “After 2020,the issue of flare will not just be issue of penalty, but it would be issue license operations, and whether or not affected companies would be allowed to operate.”
Commending on the efforts of Big oil firms, Kachukwu said,”Some of the oil firms had contacted us, those of them who are not involved in the bidding process, had informed us seeking permission to exit flaring using third party systems. The balance of what has not been exempted is the one that is up for the bids”
“Most of the big oil firms are using third party procedures to address concerns of flaring .It is a journey that we are determined to succeed it and we are already making apppreaciable progress.Remember,the United Nations gave us 2030 targets,but we are using 2020.What is important for us is the 10 year differentials.”
Speaking further on LPG penetration in the country,Kachikwu decried the poor infrastructure to faciliate that but explained that there is already ongoing efforts in that regard.
“We are setting up LPG penetration distributions.They are the one to set up their distribution points and link up with manufacturers to cover a systemic area,and this would bring about lots of jobs for the country,particularly from Southern to Northern part of the country.”
Also speaking, Rabiu Suleiman,who heads government’s gas flare commercialisation programme said,”Over 800 Expression of interest has been obtained from interested firms with 176 flare points in the country,already identified for bidding.”
The Nigerian government is making efforts to address concerns of gas flaring.It would be noted that a critical aspect of ‘7 big win number 3 which is gas revolution intends to reduce gas flaring by harnessing flare gas to stimulate economic growth,drive investments and provide jobs in the Niger Delta through the utilisation of available innovative technologies.
The federal government included gas flare reduction as a key national greenhouse gas emissions mitigations in its nationally dermined contributions under the United Nations Frameworek convention on climate change,and the federal executive council in June 2016 approved the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme(NGFCP).
The Programme, the federal governmen said would reduce Nigeria’s CO2 emissions by approximately 13 milllion tons-year,which would be monitised under an emission credits -carbon sale programme.
