RETRACTED: Analysis of the Legal Framework Governing Gas Flaring in Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Sector and the Need for Overhauling

This paper aims to identify and evaluate the legal responses to the challenges of gas flaring and greenhouse emission management in Nigeria. In Nigeria, there is a need to combat the problem of indiscriminate flaring of gas to provide a safe environment for yet-unborn generations. Gas flaring has resulted in the extinction of species in the environment, and once species are depleted to the point of extinction, they cannot be renewed; as a result, the loss of these plant and animal species will make it difficult for future generations to meet their needs. As a result, it is critical to protect these resources to ensure long-term development. In the face of pollution and environmental degradation, maintaining the environment will be a difficult and debilitating challenge to the ecosystem. Exploration of oil and gas has therefore become an environmental albatross in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The discharge or flaring of gases from exploration sites pollutes the air, water, and soil. The overreliance on fossil fuels to power cars, industrial machinery and home energy sources in Nigeria has created a risk for petroleum resources, threatening long-term growth. The paper thus introduces the incidences of gas flaring in Nigeria, highlights a brief review of opinions and scholars’ perspectives on the subject and the overview of the challenges of gas flaring and greenhouse gas emission in Nigeria, and explores the impacts of gas flaring in the Nigeria Delta area and the Nigerian ecosystem. The paper finds that there are a number of challenges with the operation, administration and content of the existing legal frameworks and mechanisms available to combat gas flaring and greenhouse gas emissions in Nigeria and there is a need for improvement, to ensure they engender proper clean-up and remediation. The paper concluded by stating that there exists a need to strike a healthy balance between economic development and sustainable development and this can only be achieved if there is a political will on the part of the Nigerian federal government to enforce its anti-gas flaring laws to guarantee energy security and ensure a safe, clean, and healthy environment for all and sundry in Nigeria whilst giving recommendations on the need for effective management, capture, re-use and conversion of flared gases into a power-lean-and-clean project and the regulation/administration of greenhouse emission in Nigeria.

The rapid development of the global oil and gas industry has led to an increase in atmospheric emissions which is detrimental to the wider atmosphere. The flaring of gas during oil exploration and production activities alarmingly contributes to the emission of green-house gases which contribute to climate change. The enactment of legislation with adequate provisions for reducing and eliminating gas flaring from oil and gas activities cannot be over emphasized. Few countries of the world have successfully eliminated the problem of gas flaring through conservation and the enactment of adequate legislation which prescribes stringent sanctions for defaulters. However, Nigeria is an example of a country with inadequate gas flaring laws. The doctrinal methodology was adopted here in this research. Hence, Both primary and secondary sources of materials were used. This paper examined the effectiveness of the legal frame work and regulatory regimes on gas flaring in Nigeria with a view to determining if the phase-out of the problem can be achieved. This paper found out that the provisions of the Associated Gas RE-Injection Act (AGRA) 1979 and its Regulations of 1984, among other laws, are inadequate for regulating and/or eliminating gas flaring. This paper finally recommended developing more effective laws on gas flaring and methods by which the gas being flared can be conserved to ensure a clean and healthy environment in Nigeria, particularly the Niger-Delta.

Gas flaring is a global problem affecting oil-producing countries. The Nigerian petroleum industry is not an exemption. Gas flaring is responsible for the emission of greenhouse gas, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, and climate change. The study aims to offer legal panaceas to the menace of gas flaring, which has affected Nigeria’s economy. Many scholars have raised concerns and the need for discontinuance of gas flaring in Nigeria due to its adverse effect on oil-producing areas and human health. The study adopts a doctrinal legal research method, exploring both primary and secondary sources of information to achieve its aim. The study finds that weak enforcement of the existing anti-gas-flaring laws in Nigeria made some oil companies flare gas. The study designs a hybrid model or mechanism for combating the menace and advocates that defaulting companies should be made to pay dearly for violation of anti-gas-flaring laws to promote the commercialisation of fled gas. The study recommends stringent enforcement of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and advocates replication of the provisions of the anti-gas-flaring laws of other advanced climes, especially the selected case-study countries where gas flaring has been abated. The study further advocates the need for the use of sophisticated or advanced technologies in oil and gas operations. In conclusion, it is believed that if the government adopts and implements stringent laws, it would combat gas flaring in Nigeria.

Nigeria is the second largest gas flaring nation in the world. Flaring of associated gas during oil production has a significant impact on the environment, health and finances of the nation. This paper aims to give readers an overview of the issues around gas flaring in Nigeria. It highlights the associated environmental and health as well as the legal and socio-economic issues and reviews the legal and regulatory framework under which gas is flared and presents data on the quantity costs of flaring, as well as making policy recommendations for the elimination of gas flaring in Nigeria.

Retraction: Olujobi, O.J., & Olusola‐Olujobi, T. (2020). Comparative appraisals of legal and institutional framework governing gas flaring in Nigeria's upstream petroleum sector: How satisfactory?. Environmental Quality Management, https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.21680The above article from Environmental Quality Management published online on 3 July 2020 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) in Early View has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Jega Jegatheesan and Wiley Periodicals, LLC. The retraction has been agreed due to unattributed overlap with a previously published article from the same group of authors.

Gas Flaring is the burning of associated gas discovered during the exploration and production of oil from reservoir rocks in the absence of facilities to utilize this gas. Flaring releases CO2 and Methane into the atmosphere with its attendant environmental impact on the growing problem of global warming and also constitutes economic waste in view of the various productive uses to which this gas can be put and revenue derivable therefrom. Nigeria is the second largest gas flaring nation in the world and this has had significant environmental and health impacts on the oil producing communities in the country as well as constitute massive economic loss for the country. Several penalties, fines and deadlines imposed by the government over the years have proved abortive as the practice has continued unabated. This paper considers the feasibility of the adoption of a unique approach to ending gas flaring in Nigeria – the 'Carrot and Stick' approach – which combines a mixture of legal and economic mechanisms and aims at achieving a win-win situation for the oil companies and the government. The methodology employed is a comparative analysis of mechanisms employed in countries with high success rate in tackling flaring such as Norway and Canada and analyzing the applicability of these mechanisms in Nigeria’s situation. The paper finds that the adoption of the 'Carrot and Stick' approach addresses the root causes of the problem in Nigeria and represents a bright chance of putting an effective end to this harmful environmental practice.

The Social Science Editorial Office retracts the article, “Analysis of the Legal Framework Governing Gas Flaring in Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Sector and the Need for Overhauling” (Olujobi 2020), cited above [...]

Gas flaring remains a persistent environmental and human rights challenge in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, exacerbated by inadequate enforcement of extant laws. This article employs a doctrinal and comparative methodology to critically examine the legal frameworks governing gas flaring in Nigeria, including the 1999 Constitution, the Petroleum Industry Act, the Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations, and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act. It highlights the adverse effects of gas flaring, such as environmental degradation, health risks, and economic losses, and juxtaposes Nigeria’s approach with Norway’s successful gas flaring abatement regime. The findings reveal that while Nigeria has adequate laws, their enforcement remains weak due to infrastructural deficits and a lack of political will. The article recommends stricter enforcement of existing laws, investment in gas utilization infrastructure, and adoption of international best practices, such as Norway’s regulatory oversight and technological advancements, to eliminate gas flaring and promote sustainable development in the Niger Delta.

Oil is indeed the ‘devil’s excreta’. Consequently, gas flaring in Nigeria began with production of crude oil in 1958 resulting in serious trans-boundary environmental, energy, economic and health implications. This has led to the adoption of zero-gas flaring policy in 2003 in line with the domestication of related international initiatives and treaties in Nigeria. NNPC and international oil corporations (IOCs) from the United States of America, Britain, France and the Netherlands in oil production flared 514,779,616 standard cubic feet (scf) of associated gas out of 619,032,858 SCF of total associated gas flared in 2011. Available records indicate that Nigeria’s oil joint venture partners prioritised profits through increase in oil production without pegging oil production to the capacity of gas utilisation facilities required to meet policy deadline. This study focused on the assessment of the impact of oil joint venture partnerships on the enforcement of zero-gas flaring policy in Nigeria. The paper concludes that equity arrangements of the oil joint operation agreements hindered the implementation of zero-gas flaring policy in Nigeria.

At first thought it may seem strange that we should be facing a scarcity of helium, the second most abundant element in the universe and widespread on Earth. But according to a recent story in Physics Today (June 2007, page 31), serious shortages are coming, with the world supply dwindling and the price about to soar. Unfortunately, we have brought the coming shortage on ourselves by our carelessness and inattention to conservation.Through disregard and a lack of foresight, enormous amounts of helium have been unnecessarily lost. Closely associated with petroleum deposits, helium is present in the mixture of gases that accompany petroleum production. In many cases producers have been interested in producing only oil from the oil fields. Because the natural gas accompanying crude oil production often could not be transported economically to markets, it was simply released to the atmosphere and wasted, along with the helium present in the mixture. Unfortunately, those practices persist in some petroleum-producing areas. Even now, the estimates indicate that in the range of 150–170 billion meters of natural gas are routinely flared or vented annually. 1,2 1. World Bank,“Global Gas Flaring Reduction,” http://go.worldbank.org/NEBP6PEHS0.2. C. D. Elvidge, K. E. Baugh, B. T. Tuttle, A. T. Howard, D. W. Pack, C. Milesi, E. H. Erwin,“A Twelve Year Record of National and Global Gas Flaring Volumes Estimated Using Satellite Data, Final Report to the World Bank—May 30, 2007,” http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/interest/DMSP_flares_20070530_b.pdf; National Geophysical Data Center,“Global Gas Flaring Estimates,” http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/interest/gas_flares.html. The natural gas that is regularly released into the atmosphere, either directly or after burning, during the production of oil and gas not only amounts to wasted resources but also contributes to the destructive effects of additional greenhouse gas emissions. Flaring and venting of natural gas in oil wells has been a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and thus may contribute to climate change. 3,4 3. G. Marland, T. A. Boden, R. J. Andres, “Global, Regional, and National Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions,” in Online Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change , Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN (2007), available at http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/meth_reg.htm.4. Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Climate Justice Programme, Gas Flaring in Nigeria: A Human Rights, Environmental and Economic Monstrosity, ERA/FOE Nigeria and CJP, Amsterdam, (2005), available at http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/gas_flaring_nigeria.pdf The shameful and unnecessary waste of helium at the sources continues to be accompanied by equally unnecessary contributions to greenhouse gases. We must take a more serious and committed attitude toward our natural resources; curtailing the unnecessary waste of both methane and helium in flaring and venting would be an important step to take.REFERENCESSection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCES <<1. World Bank,“Global Gas Flaring Reduction,” http://go.worldbank.org/NEBP6PEHS0. Google Scholar2. C. D. Elvidge, K. E. Baugh, B. T. Tuttle, A. T. Howard, D. W. Pack, C. Milesi, E. H. Erwin,“A Twelve Year Record of National and Global Gas Flaring Volumes Estimated Using Satellite Data, Final Report to the World Bank—May 30, 2007,” http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/interest/DMSP_flares_20070530_b.pdf; Google ScholarNational Geophysical Data Center,“Global Gas Flaring Estimates,” http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dmsp/interest/gas_flares.html. Google Scholar3. G. Marland, T. A. Boden, R. J. Andres, “Global, Regional, and National Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions,” in Online Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change , Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN (2007), available at http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/meth_reg.htm. Google Scholar4. Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Climate Justice Programme, Gas Flaring in Nigeria: A Human Rights, Environmental and Economic Monstrosity, ERA/FOE Nigeria and CJP, Amsterdam, (2005), available at http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/gas_flaring_nigeria.pdf , Google Scholar© 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Natural gas flaring, with its harmful environmental, health, and economic effects, is common in the Nigerian oil and gas industry because of a lower tax regime for flared gases. Based on the adverse effects of flared gas, the Nigerian government has renewed and improved its efforts to reduce or eliminate gas flaring through the application of natural gas utilisation techniques. However, because the conventional approach to flare gas utilisation is heavily reliant on achieving scale, fuel, and end-product prices, not all technologies are technically and economically viable for typically capturing large and small quantities of associated gas from various flare sites or gas fields (located offshore or onshore). For these reasons, this paper reviews and compares various flare gas utilisation options to guide their proper selection for appropriate implementation in the eradication of routine gas flaring in Nigeria and to promote the Zero Routine Flaring initiative, which aims to reduce flaring levels dramatically by 2030. A qualitative assessment is used in this study to contrast the various flare gas utilisation options against key decision drivers. In this analysis, three natural gas utilisation processes—liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas to wire (GTW), and gas to methanol (GTM)—are recommended as options for Nigeria because of their economic significance, technological viability (both onshore and offshore), and environmental benefits. All these gas utilisation options have the potential to significantly reduce and prevent routine gas flaring in Nigeria and can be used separately or in combination to create synergies that could lower project costs and product market risk. This article clearly identifies the environmental benefits and the technical and economic viability of infrastructure investments to recover and repurpose flare gasses along with recommendation steps to select and optimise economies of scale for an associated natural gas utilisation option.

Determination of greenhouse gas emission resulting from gas flaring activities in Nigeria

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;Gas flaring is the combustion of associated gas from crude-oil exploitation and exploration operations and occurs in refineries, oil wells, oil rigs by fiery of the gas. Nigeria is one of the main producers of gas in the world and oil exploration activities have occasioned high rate of gas flaring because of poor enforcement of anti-gas flaring laws by the regulatory authorities. Gas flaring comes with serious environmental concern because it is a major source of air pollution with adverse public health consequences particularly in the gas flaring communities. The objective of this narrative review is to identify the risks associated with gas flaring in relation to the environment. Literatures from diverse databases including peer reviewed journals as well as governmental and organizational papers were searched to develop the narrative. Over the years, several laws have been enacted in Nigeria with stipulated dates to end gas flaring, but the targets have not been met. The Federal government of Nigeria updated the legal framework titled flare gas (prevention of waste and pollution) regulations, 2018 to facilitate financial profits through utilization and commercialization of associated gas, with a view to reduce or exterminate flaring. This effort appears ineffective due to weak enforcement and poor monitoring mechanism. The statutory government institution entrusted to enforce anti-gas law may benefit from some sort of motivation to ensure oil operators comply to combat environmental health risks from gas flaring.&lt;/p&gt;

The assessment, comprehensively reviewed the challenges of gas flaring in Nigeria, including the exploration, formation and extraction of crude oil. Gas flaring is simply the open-air combustion of fuel gas. Initial start-up flaring, Continuous production flaring and Operational/Non-continuous production flaring which are the 3 major classified categories of flaring were discussed, including composition of flared gases, types of flare gases such as ground flares, pit flares and elevated flares. The cumulative effects of gas flaring under the headings: Environments, Health, Economy and other effects were thoroughly discussed. Flaring has many disastrous consequences such as; decrease in the life expectancy of people living near flare sites due to poisonous emissions which lead to a variety of health challenges and diseases. Flaring also contributes to global warming, which is a major concern today as it causes extreme weather conditions, extinction of certain species and climate change. Nigeria stands to gain a great deal from utilizing natural gas properly in terms of revenue and increased job opportunities, consequently it is necessary that the flaring of natural gas should be stopped. Several alternatives have been proposed, including using flared gas to produce electricity and as a petrochemical feedstock, liquefying of flare gas and reinjecting it into the earth as a secondary oil recovery technique. Nigeria has made several policies to reduce and subsequently end gas flaring and has set multiple deadlines which ended up being postponed severally. The new deadline to end gas flaring in Nigeria is now anticipated to be by 2030. However, due to many setbacks, it is possible that the deadline may yet be shifted again.

In the year 2000, TOTAL had announced that it would no longer continue routine flaring of associated gas on new oilfields development; and will make maximum efforts to stop continuous flaring on all existing installations. In 2004, TOTAL joined the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, A World Bank Initiative committed to reducing global gas flaring. The resolve of TOTAL's commitment to eliminating continuous gas flaring on all of its installations became overwhelming that between 1998 and 2005, TOTAL had reduced gas flaring by 40% despite, strong production growth within the same period. In 2014, TOTAL set the objective to cut associated gas flaring by 50% from the 2005 baseline. Covered in this objective is the elimination of gas flaring on OML 102 - Ofon Oilfield, Nigeria; for which the Ofon Phase 2 Project have been endorsed and expected to achieve alongside other objectives. The project was scheduled to take off seven years after the phase 1 development which achieved its first oil in December, 1997 with no facilities for the utilization of the produced associated gas. Continuous gas flaring thus became unavoidable and thus served as the only way to safely dispose of the unwanted associated gas produced together with crude oil. The eventual completion and realization of the seamless startup of Ofon phase 2 project, achieved in a context of high levels of local content coupled with the implementations additional energy efficient systems aimed at reducing global warming and energy consumption together is a clear demonstration of TOTAL's resolve to the sustainable development of the Niger Delta and the elimination of continuous gas flaring in Nigeria. In full compliance with Nigerian law, TOTAL has now eliminated gas flaring on OML102 – Ofon Oilfield. The elimination of gas flaring on the Ofon oilfield is also a significant milestone for TOTAL's environmental targets as it represents a 10% reduction in the Group's E&amp;P flaring. This paper presents the strategies and plans that were successfully implemented on the Ofon phase-2 project, which thus led to the realization of the seamless startup and consequently cascaded to the elimination of continuous gas flaring on the Ofon Oilfield Complex. The actions that were taken to drastically reduce the duration of the first oil startup which significantly reduced the initial startup flaring are also presented.