Nigeria lost $779.9m or N281bn in 6 months to 228.8bscf gas flared by oil firms

Shell Nigeria, ExxonMobil, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, Aiteo Exploration and Production and Total Exploration and Production Nigeria, TEPNG, flared 7.33 billion standard cubic feet, SCF, of gas equivalent to N9.24 billion, in the month of May 2020.

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This was contained in a data obtained by iBrandTV from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Monday.

The Gas Production and Utilisation Data for May 2020 obtained from the NNPC, revealed that the five Joint Venture companies flared the most quantity of gas in the month under review, noting that combined, they produced 138.95 billion SCF and flared 7.33 billion SCF, representing 5.27 per cent of their total production.

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In general, the NNPC report disclosed that of the 211.96 billion SCF of gas produced in May, 200.11 billion SCF was utilized, while 11.851 billion SCF was flared. This meant that gas worth $41.48 million was flared in May 2020, an equivalent of N14.93 billion.

According to the report, these five companies accounted for 65.56 per cent of the 211.96 billion SCF of gas produced in the Nigerian petroleum industry in May 2020, while they also accounted for 61.86 per cent of the 11.85 billion SCF of gas flared in the entire country in the month under review.

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Giving a breakdown of the gas flared by the companies in terms of volume, the report stated that Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company flared 2.165 billion SCF of gas; ExxonMobil flared 1.487 billion SCF; NAOC flared 1.263 billion, while Aiteo Exploration and Production and TEPNG flared 1.237 billion SCF and 1.178 billion respectively.

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In monetary terms, using an average gas price of $3.5 per 1,000 SCF and the average exchange rate of N360 to the dollar, Shell flared $7.58 million worth of gas, an equivalent of N2.73 billion; Mobil flared $5.2 million, an equivalent of N1.87 billion; NAOC $4.42 million (N1.59 billion); Aiteo $4.32 million (N1.56 billion) and Total $4.12 million (N1.49 billion).

However, among the five companies, Aiteo was the worst offender, in terms of utilization, that is, comparing quantity of gas produced and volume flared, as the report stated that the indigenous firm flared 70.67 per cent of the total gas it produced in the month.

Specifically, the report noted that Aiteo produced 1.75 billion SCF of gas in the month under review, and flared 1.237 billion SCF of the commodity.

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Total followed, according to the report, as it flared 5.6 per cent of the 21.026 billion SCF of gas it produced in the month under review; while Mobil, NAOC and Shell flared 4.65 per cent, 4.16 per cent and 4.02 per cent of the 31.94 billion SCF, 30.37 billion SCF and 53.897 billion SCF of gas they produced in the month respectively.

However, the report identified Belema Oil, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company/Shell Petroleum Development Company, NPDC/SPDC, joint venture, Aiteo and Newcross, as the worst offenders in the area of gas flaring in terms of gas utilization in the month under review.

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Specifically, the report noted that Belema Oil flared 100 per cent of the 298 million SCF of gas it produced;  NPDC/SPDC Joint Venture produced 199 million SCF of gas and flared 194 million SCF of gas, representing 98 per cent of the total; Aiteo, flared 70.67 per cent of the 1.75 billion SCF of gas it produced;  while Newcross Exploration and Production Limited flared 510 million SCF of gas, representing 62.95 per cent of the total gas it produced in the month under review.

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