The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylvia made the commitment at a public hearing on “Need to end Gas Flaring in Nigeria and Harness Associated Gas” organized by the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Gas Resources, Environment and Climate Change.
The hearing was attended by the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar who is represented by a Director, Abbas Suleiman, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mele Kyari and other critical Keyplayers in the petroleum sector.
Sylva said Nigeria has however reduced gas flaring to 8 per cent. He explained that the issue of gas flaring is something that the Ministry take very seriously as there is a global consensus on the elimination of gas flaring by 2025.
While declaring the event open, the House Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila said that though there had been many unfruitful conversations about achieving the objective, the 9th House is commited to changing the narratives.
He added that the investigation would cover the level of devastation caused by gas flaring and the level of regulatory compliance by multinationals in the Petroleum Upstream sector.
The Speaker explained that the Country has not managed to end the environmental damage that results from gas flaring, and deprive her citizens of the economic benefits of full utilisation of gas resources in the Country
The Speaker promised that legislative action through Bills and oversight to achieve the ambitions would be highly upheld.
Gas flaring is the combustion of associated gas generated during various processes including oil and gas recovery.
The flaring emits powerful climate forcers and dangerous air pollutants like carbon, methane and volatile organic compounds which are hazardous to human health and environment.
