Money in Flame: An Appraisal of the Legal Framework on Gas Flaring in Nigeria

Abstract

Gas flaring and venting is the burning of associated gas that accompanies the extraction of crude oil wells during exploration. Gas flaring is not only waste a potentially valuable source of energy (natural gas), it also adds significantly carbon emission in the
atmosphere causing local pollution a contributing factor to climate change and global warming. Nigeria has been on the forefront of both polluting the environment, by virtue of being one of the largest gas flaring country as well as experiencing a full-blown energy crises in spite of its abundant gas resources. Nigeria is an active party to multiple international and regional conventions, it has acceded and ratified for the control of atmospheric pollution generally and gas flaring in particular. This paper therefore, seeks to investigate the reasons for the continuous gas flaring, despite the efforts of the Government towards ending gas flaring. It highlights the associated environmental and socio-economic issues and reviews some of the legal and institutional frameworks under which gas is flared. Using doctrinal methodology, the study found that the laws are too many and ineffective and that the regulatory institutions lack the necessary authority for their enforcement. The paper situates Nigeria as still struggling to put in place effective legal framework for the control of gas flaring. Its concludes that, sustainable utilization of flare gas could yield tremendous economic and environmental benefits for the host communities as well as save the country the billions of dollars lost annually through flaring of gas that could be utilise for commercial use. It finally recommend the international best practices for control of gas flaring through implementation of effective measures both regulatory and non-regulatory capable of controlling gas flaring and maximising economic recovery of the Nigeria gas reserves and reducing greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission.