By Udeme Hosea

The Honorable Minister of State For Petroleum (Gas), ObongEmem  Ekperikpe Ekpo, has said the federal Government is  determined  to eradicate gas flaring in Nigeria by 2030,as the government  is totally against Gas flaring.

The Minister, who reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government on zero flare, made this known in an interaction with newsmen over the weekend at Abak, announced that, 43 companies have been awarded contract by the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) , to take care of gas flaring.

ObongEmem Ekperikpe Ekpo

“On the issue of gas flare out, the government of Nigeria is determined and committed towards ensuring that an end is put to it by 2030”.

“When i was talking, i made mention of Decade of Gas, Under the Decade of Gas initiative, we are talking about how to commercialize gas and make it meaningful.

 Of course, recently about 43 companies have been awarded contract by the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission ( NUPRC ), to take care of gas flaring. These companies would capture the gas and turn it into a commercial venture and we will be making good use of it”.

 ObongEmem   Ekpo , while  giving insight on energy transition, hinted that, the ministry has send signals to International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria to work on zero flare for the betterment of the society, commended oil companies that have complied with the directive on zero flare.

“I’ve sent the same signals to other International Oil Companies, IOC’s yet to follow suit that they have to follow suit. We don’t need gas flare again in Nigeria”.

“When we talk about energy transition, we are talking about gas. So, it has to be converted from being flared out to being used as fuel to grow the economy. We need gas in every aspect of our lives,  in the kitchen we need gas. We need to look for a way and discourage the use of firewood. It doesn’t  help, it kills because of the carbon that comes out of it”.

” We are totally against gas flaring and we are working assiduously towards stopping gas flaring”.

Ekpo, further explained that, the hike in price of cooking gas is as a result of increase in demand for natural gas and scarcity due to exportation, assured Nigerians of their commitment to ensure cooking gas is affordable.

“The reason for the current price hike is due to scarcity as a result of exportation. The high demand for it has also made the local dealers take advantage of the situation and sell at a higher rate. We are working seriously to arrest this situation through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which is saddled with the responsibility of gas price fixing.”

“Nigeria’s blending of LPG is 40:60 (propane and butane). But some companies produce and blend their gas to their specific blend like 50:50 or 30:70, which is not the blend that is needed here. So, recently, we convened a meeting with some IOCs urging them to stop selling their gas (LPG) outside the country. We have moved a step further to look for a bending plant that would blend it to our specification,” he explained.

The Minister, further  added that, the ministry is working out modalities to stop the export of gas by independent producers, stressed that, stopping exportation of gas will end scarcity and reduce the price.

 “We have discussed how we can stop the export of gas by independent producers. When we stop the export of gas the price would come down.”