Nigeria Loses 62,400GWh as Gas Flaring Surges 18.6%

By Opeyemi Adelakun

Nigeria lost an estimated 62,400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity generation potential between 2024 and 2025 as gas flaring increased despite tougher government sanctions, exposing persistent weaknesses in the country’s energy value chain and depriving the power sector of much-needed fuel.

Data obtained from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) showed the lost electricity potential represented an 18.6 per cent increase from the 50,800GWh wasted between 2022 and 2023.

The agency also estimated that gas worth $2.2 billion was flared during the period, while defaulting operators, including International Oil Companies and National Oil Companies, accumulated liabilities of about $1.2 billion in statutory penalties.

The latest figures come as major oil-producing countries increasingly channel associated gas into electricity generation, industrial production and export rather than burning it off, leaving Nigeria trailing global efforts to maximise energy resources.

NOSDRA disclosed that operators flared about 380.6 million standard cubic feet of gas from onshore facilities compared with 243.8 million standard cubic feet offshore. The agency said the practice generated an estimated 33.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, worsening environmental pollution while wasting valuable energy resources.

The agency lamented that gas flaring has continued despite decades of regulatory interventions designed to reduce the practice and improve gas utilisation across the petroleum industry.

The findings also align with the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report, which ranked Nigeria among the world’s nine largest gas-flaring nations in 2025 alongside Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria and the United States.

According to the report, the nine countries accounted for 83 per cent of gas flared globally in 2025 despite producing only 46 per cent of the world’s crude oil. It added that global gas flaring rose to 167 billion cubic metres during the year, with Nigeria accounting for about nine billion cubic metres, making it the world’s seventh-largest gas-flaring country.

Reacting to the development, Professor Emeritus of Petroleum Economics, Wumi Iledare, said Nigeria’s persistent gas flaring reflects structural failures in the country’s energy and power sectors rather than weak enforcement alone.

“Gas flaring in Nigeria is not merely an environmental issue; it reflects a failure of power market economics, gas commercialisation and sector governance. Every molecule of gas flared represents lost opportunities to generate electricity, support industries, create jobs, earn export revenues and strengthen energy security,” he said.

Iledare attributed the continued flaring to inadequate gas gathering infrastructure, an illiquid electricity market, pricing distortions and regulatory inefficiencies that make flaring the easier commercial option for producers.

He stressed that stronger penalties must be matched with reforms capable of making gas utilisation commercially viable.

“While higher flare penalties are necessary, penalties alone will not solve the problem. They must be complemented by policies that encourage gas capture, infrastructure investment, market-based pricing and a financially sustainable electricity market where gas producers are assured of timely payment,” he said.