PROPOSAL ON EVALUATION ON GAS FLARING
PROJECT PROPOSAL ON AN EVALUATION ON GAS FLARING Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas that is associated with crude oil when it is pumped up from the ground. In petroleum-producing areas where insufficient investment was made in infrastructure to utilize natural gas, flaring is employed to dispose of this associated gas. Also chemical factories, oil refineries, oil wells, rigs and landfills, gaseous waste products and sometimes even non-waste gases produced are routed to an elevated vertical chimney called a gas flare and burnt off at its tip, This is called gas flaring. Waste gases are subjected to such a process either because the gases are waste or it is difficult to store and transport them. Non-waste gases are burnt off to protect the processing equipment when unexpected high pressure develops within them. Gas flaring in oil rigs and wells contribute significantly to greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
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Nigeria flares a high level of natural gas per year in conjunction with the exploration of crude oil in the Niger Delta. This high level of gas flaring is equal to approximately one quarter of the current power consumption of the African continent. Even though we have grown to be fairly dependent on oil and it has become the centre of current industrial development and economic activities, we rarely consider how oil exploration and exploitation processes create environmental, health, and social problems in local communities near oil producing fields.
From an economic perspective, the Nigerian government’s main interest in the oil industry is to maximize its monetary profits from oil production. Oil companies find it more economically expedient to flare the natural gas and pay the insignificant fine than to re-inject the gas back into the oil wells. Additionally, because there is an insufficient energy market especially in rural areas, oil companies do not see an economic incentive to collect the gas. From a social perspective, the oil-producing communities have experienced severe marginalization and neglect. The environment and
human health have frequently been a secondary consideration for oil companies and the Nigerian government. However, although there may be reasons for the continuous gas flaring, there are many strong arguments suggesting that it should be stopped. Aside from the health and environmental consequences of gas flaring, the nation also loses billions of dollars worth of gas which is literally burnt off daily in the atmosphere. Much of this can be converted for domestic use and for electricity generation. By so doing the level of electricity generation in the country could be raised to meet national demand.
BY
JOE JOHNSON MATILDA IJEOMA