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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

OVERVIEW

ISSUE IDENTIFIED

WHAT BROUGHT GAS FLARING INTO ATTENTION?

LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN NIGERIA AGAINST GAS FLARING

REGULATION 1 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

REGULATION 2 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

REGULATION 3 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

REGULATION 4 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

REGULATION 5 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

REGULATION 6 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

REGULATION 7 (CRITICAL EVALUATION)

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

 

INTRODUCTION:

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has disclosed that the country is currently losing N868 million daily as the oil and gas firms in the country are only flaring 700 million standard cubic feet of the gas per day currently.

The issue regarding gas flaring is very subjective. First of all, it is important to understand what is gas flaring exactly? It is a device which is used or the process of combustion at the industrial plants. This is usually done for the purposes of petroleum refineries, chemical plants and gas processing. The practice of gas flaring started in Nigeria back in the 1960s which were then used for the production of gas in the 1960’s. It also became the cheapest way to separate the identified products and crude oil through Gas flaring as the only way to separate them was to burn the gas. Then in 1989, the Nigerian government required the companies to bring the gas flares to zero level by 1989 in order to continue with their businesses. However, the Oil businesses in Nigeria have always taken this law very lightly, which is why they continue paying the merely nominal fines for breaking the law and are still flaring the gas.

OVERVIEW:

Gas flaring has remained a matter of debate in Nigeria for about a long time. This became the issue of concern for the nationals of the country. They started to seek justice in their favor against the excessive gas flaring. However, there are new rules that have been implemented in order to do against the gas flaring in Nigeria. However, the government has kept delaying the dates for the companies to end the gas flaring. The companies kept breaking laws and continued paying nominal fines just to keep going with it. Gas flaring is frequently performed for financial reasons, as elective transfer strategies are more expensive than the quick disposal of the gas, which is a less productive and possibly dangerous result of the business.

ISSUE IDENTIFIED:

The government had claimed that all the oil and gas companies should save in Nigeria. Be that as it may, however, the licenses are conceded to the oil industry for the investigation and generation, also a legally binding game plan is gone into it as well. The privately owned business and the government share the contract between them in which the rules and regulations are specified. Thus it is easier for the government to make sure that the oil companies are adhering to the laws.

It has been reported that Nigeria is the second largest country contributing to the world’s most gas flaring contributors after Russia. Even after the era of awareness and realization, the figures remained constant until 2004 that was approximately reported as 150-200 cubic meters. This process of gas production is not a very efficient way. As it not only wastes the natural resource which is so valuable (natural gas), but it also increases the overall amount of carbon that is emitted in the surroundings. Moreover, it just does not stop here. It goes on with the emission of soot and carbon monoxide that adds up to the air pollution.

NPR’s professionals and environmentalists have identified that if Nigeria alone reduces the amount of gas flaring it is involved in, then twice the overall CO2 level of emissions will be reduced that is the agenda of the environmental cleaning under Kyoto’s Protocol’s clean developmental program.

Gas flaring in Nigeria is a practice that takes place non-stop. It has been a routinely act that has occurred for over 24 hours and 365 days a year. People who live in the locality of the industrial plants and vicinity are caused to live with the daily heavy black clouds of toxic smoke along with the very loud ground-level flaring and roaring. It has affected the people who are always in direct contact with the process at all times. This means that it adversely affects the health of those people with asthma, blood cancer, chronic bronchitis, and blood disorder. This human health issue brings the many, around 30 million people, living around very close to the struggle between life and death. These people have little or no access to care and medicine.

WHAT BROUGHT GAS FLARING INTO ATTENTION?

Gas flaring was not an issue until the United Nations held a meeting in favor of the rights for human development which was held in Stockholm. It does not only harm humans. In fact, its impact is very large. It also affects the environment. It causes the environment to cause acid rain. Acid rain is very notoriously associated with the reduction in the crop yields every year. The acid rain has also caused the fish population in the Niger Delta to reduce widely. This has happened due to acid rain and its toxic wastes…