From Dennis Mernyi, Abuja
NIGERIA will soon sign a deal with oil multinationals to end gas flaring by 2030. President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this Monday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA) conference.
Speaking through the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari disclosed that as a member of the World Bank Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GCFR) Partnership, Nigeria will sign the United Nations Agreement of “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030.” He said environmental issues of gas flaring must be accorded huge priority in processing Africa’s hydrocarbon resource.
The President noted that globally, over 150 billion cubic meters of associated gas is flared annually, of which Africa flares an estimated 40 billion cubic meters.
He added that in Nigeria, gas flaring amounts to about 23 billion cubic meters per annum in over 100 flare sites constituting over 13 per cent of global gas flaring.
“Nigeria is a member of the World Bank Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GCFR) Partnership and with the support of our legislature, we will sign the United Nations Agreement of ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ although our national target is 2020. I urge all APPA member countries to set realistic targets for gas flare-out in the region,” he said.
According to the President, the issue of the development of a robust gas infrastructure must be jointly addressed if Africa must meet its future energy needs, stressing that the use of gas in the continent’s future energy mix has become imperative.