LAGOS (AFP) – A global environmental group said Tuesday it has launched a campaign to push the Nigerian authorities to effectively ban gas flaring after the expiry of another government deadline.
Friends of the Earth’s month-long campaign kicked off on Monday and will see petitions delivered to political leaders, including President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Nigeria is a leading oil producer in Africa but is also ranked as among the top gas flarers.
Gas flaring refers to the burning of gas released when oil is pumped, and Nigeria last set a December 31 deadline — the latest in a series of non-respected deadlines — for oil majors to stop the practice.
“We are tired of having to watch government set deadlines and shift them,” Nnimmo Bassey, chairman of Friends of the Earth International told AFP.
Gas flaring is blamed for environmental degradation and a myriad of diseases such as leukaemia and asthma.
The green group says the practice costs Nigeria some 2.5 billion dollars (1.9 billion euros) annually “while more than 66 percent of the population is estimated to live in poverty”.
Bassey said gas flaring has been technically illegal in Nigeria since 1984, but oil firms continue to burn gas.
Flaring is the cheapest way to deal with separating the gas which is often found mixed with crude oil when extracting.
“Government should be bold enough to take steps to stop gas flaring rather than dance to the tune of transnational corporations,” said Bassey.
“While Europe faces gas shortages, Friends of the Earth is putting the Nigerian government under pressure to ensure that oil companies stop flaring Nigerian gas.”
Government officials say gas has the potential to replace oil as Nigeria’s main foreign earnings if fully exploited.
Nigeria has the world’s seventh largest proven gas reserves of about 187 trillion cubic feet.
The United Nations and the World Bank estimate that gas flaring by oil producing firms in Nigeria wastes close to 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas, a world record and more than the domestic need of about 1.4 billion.
The west African region’s economic powerhouse needs the gas to boost its electricity generation.
Despite its oil wealth, Nigeria — sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous nation — has woefully inadequate infrastructure. Its electricity output is a mere 3,000 megawatts, about 20 times lower than South Africa which has around a third of its population.
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