In a dire period where natural gas has become a scarce commodity, with prices hitting an all-time high, Nigeria and other nations involved in huge gas flaring are likely to lose about $82 billion a year says GlobalData report.
The surge in natural gas prices is also due to a massive supply shortage in Europe, a situation that is quickly spilling over into other countries and other markets—including the coal and oil markets as demand for power exceeds supply.
The natural gas crisis is set to intensify as winter heating season approaches, with supplies insufficient to keep up with current demand, let alone build stockpiles for what will be increased demand in the cold season.
Nigeria exports most of its gas.
The report identified biggest gas flarers, accounting for over 87 per cent of all flared gas in 2020, to include Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, the US and Venezuela.
Gas flaring – the combustion of unwanted natural gas produced during oil recovery – is losing many oil-producing countries up to $82bn, according to GlobalData.
The leading data and analytics company notes that, even though technological solutions exist to avoid gas flaring, many countries persist with the activity – including developed countries such as the US and Russia. Besides lost revenue, this is also an environmental issue, as gas flaring is one of the major contributors to CO2 emissions.
According to GlobalData’s report, ‘Gas Flaring-Thematic Research’ countries could make up to $82 billion if they utilized this gas instead of flaring it.
