Most importantly, the incoming National Assembly must make it a point of duty to ensure that the draft Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has been left in the shelve to gather dust be swiftly passed into law
The issue of gas flaring in Nigeria is in the news again and cannot be overemphasized considering its negative impact as it has continued to impoverish the communities where it is practiced, with attendant environmental, economic and health challenges. This came to the fore in a recent report by the First Bank Nigeria Capital (FBN Capital) and disclosed by the British government through its High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Andrew Pocock, saying that gas flaring was clearly a vast waste of economic potential by Nigeria.
According to the report, about $800 million worth of Nigeria’s gas is being flared annually by the international oil companies (IOCs). This amount is, indeed, staggering and calls for stiffer measures to be nipped in the bud. It is sad that a lot have already been said and written against this development in the country; but it seems to be a daunting task to stop the practice. Moreover, despite longstanding laws against gas flaring in the country, the activity has continued.
Unfortunately, in the Niger Delta region, where most of the gas flaring take place, residents complain of respiratory problems, skin rashes and eye irritations, as well as damage to agriculture and the ecosystem due to acid rain. Beyond this, they are also forced to live with constant noise, heat and light that can lead to sleep deprivation which can degenerate into systemic insomnia. Since flaring involves carbon dioxide and sulphur outputs, in time, the heart and lungs can be affected leading to bronchitis, silicosis, sulphur poisoning of the blood, and cardiac complications. Besides, there is no doubt that it impacts negatively in the globally talked about climate change in Nigeria. This is unacceptable, condemnable and must not be allowed to continue.
As a matter of fact, rather than flaring it, government and other relevant authorities must ensure that the IOCs put in place the requisite infrastructure to pipe gas to help solve the power inefficiency which has held back Nigeria’s economy for so long.
Although the Federal Ministry of Environment has said that it has recently deployed a new satellite gas tracker, procured form the United States (US) to ensure accurate measurement of volume of gas flared between 2012 and 2014 with a $2 billion fine for defaulters, this newspaper believes that the problem of gas flaring in the country has persisted because of a seeming reluctance on the part of government and policy makers over time to put in place adequate measures to halt the trend.
Most importantly, we strongly believe that if solving the problem of flaring gas in the country is anything to go by, the incoming National Assembly must make it a point of duty to ensure that the draft Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has been left in the shelve to gather dust be swiftly passed into law.
