Lagos — NOSDRA, the National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency, reports that gas flaring from offshore oil and gas operations resulted in an estimated loss of $78.2 million (approximately N118.864 billion) for Nigeria during January and February this year. This financial impact stems from oil and gas firms operating in the nation burning off 22.3 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF) of gas through these offshore processes over those same two months.
The NOSDRA determined the losses based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s present exchange rates, which stand at N1,520 per dollar.
The environmental monitor for the oil and gas sector reported this in their gas flare statement covering January and February 2025, indicating that the volume wasted during these initial two months from offshore oil and gas activities accounts for 31.48 percent of all gas flared over the specified timeframe.
The report highlighted that the amount of gas flared from the offshore sector of the industry during January and February resulted in an emissions contribution of 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This flare also held the potential to generate approximately 2,200 gigawatt-hours of electricity. Furthermore, the firms responsible for this gas flaring faced fines totaling $44.7 million (or N67.944 billion) as penalties.
During the corresponding timeframe in 2024, oil and gas companies working offshore burned off 29.2 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas; this was worth $102.3 million (₦155.496 billion), included fines amounting to $58.4 million (₦88.768 billion), resulted in carbon dioxide emissions totaling 1.6 million tons, and had the potential for generating 2,900 gigawatt-hours of electricity.
Previously, NOSDRA stated that Nigeria incurred a loss of $248.4 million (approximately N377.568 billion) due to gas flaring over the first two months of the year, with the total amount of gas flared by the petroleum and natural gas firm during this time estimated at 71.0 BSCF.
The report indicated that during those two months of 2025, oil and gas firms burned off a combined volume of 71.0 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF) of natural gas. This activity resulted in approximately 3.8 million tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere and could have theoretically produced up to 7,100 gigawatt-hours of electrical power instead.
Furthermore, the delinquent firms were responsible for penalty payments totaling $141.9 million, which equates to approximately N215.688 billion.
The NOSDRA stated that the non-compliant firms released unburned natural gases through flaring activities across various Oil Mining Leases (OML) including OMLs 04, 05, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 28, 23, 24, 38, 40, 42, 43, 72, 49, 54, 90, 95, 67, 70, 104, 59, 99, 100, 101, and 102 as well as some Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPL), specifically OPLs 222, 316, and 306.
The agency identified the non-compliant firms as including Shell Petroleum, Development Company (SPDC), Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Chevron Nigeria, Mobil Oil, Elf Petroleum Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Addax Petroleum, Texaco Overseas (Nigeria), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, Allied Energy Resources, Ultramar Petroleum, Atlas Petroleum, Cromwell, Afric Oil and Marketing, Famfa Oil, Moni Pulo, and South Atlantic Petroleum, along with several others.