By Darlington UDOBONG
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, has said the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s non-flare policy has positioned the country towards achieving a zero flare of gas by 2023.
Hon. Ekpo made this known in Abak on Friday while sharing the experience of his recent visit to the TotalEnergies Platform with leading newspaper publishers and media personalities in Akwa Ibom State during an interaction.
He said “On the issue of gas flaring, the government of Nigeria is very determined and committed to ensuring an end is put to it by 2030. This will be made possible through the Decade of Gas initiative, which is aimed at commercializing gas and making it meaningful.”
“My visit to TotalEnergies Platform was based on its high level of compliance with the non-flare policy of President Bola Tinubu-led administration. I was taken round the platform and I observed that it was zero flare and this applies to all their platforms. Recently, about 43 companies have been awarded contracts by the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to take away gas flaring. These companies would capture the gas and turn it into a commercial venture and we will be making good use of it,” he explained.
“We don’t need gas flares again in Nigeria. We are working on it and we have also imposed fines to discourage gas flaring. The idea is that if you flare you pay some amount of money in such a way that if it bites you, then you will look for a way to make sure you capture it and turn it into a commercial venture. Gas is the next level of our development. That is what we call energy transition,” he added.
He maintained that in the country’s development drive through the energy transition, as championed by President Bola Tinubu, gas would have to be converted from being flared to being used as fuel to grow its economy.
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