Factsheet

Nigeria is on fire
Climate consequences
Natural gas is often released in the extraction of oil in
Nigeria. Shell sets this gas on fire. The gas flares release
large quantities of greenhouse gas. Furthermore, they
waste an enormous amount of energy that Nigeria could
put to good use. In this factsheet, Milieudefensie
[Friends of the Earth Netherlands] gives information
about the consequences to the climate of flaring gas in
Nigeria.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Flaring gas in Nigeria increases greenhouse
gases, the source of climate change, in two ways:

1. Burned gas
The first way is in the form of the greenhouse gas
carbon dioxide (CO2). Natural gas released in oil
production is set on fire. When the gas is burned
completely, CO2 is released. About 98 per cent
of the total amount of flared gas is burned
completely (1)(2). Children playing near a gas flare. Photo: Elaine Gilligan

2. Leaked gas Decreasing emissions?

Not all the gas is burned. A small portion (2 per
cent) of the gas leaks away or is not fully burned.
This methane (natural gas) is a much more
powerful greenhouse gas than the CO2 that is
released when the gas is burned completely.
Methane has 20 to 60 times more impact on the
climate, depending on the period over which the
warming up is calculated.
The emission of greenhouse gases by Shell in
Nigeria is equal to that of four million passenger
cars: half the number of cars in the Netherlands.
Emissions in perspective
Exact figures for the amount of burned or leaked
gas are not known. In Nigeria, a total of 40
tonnes of greenhouse gases is emitted per year
(3). According to Shell’s own estimates, the
company is responsible for nine tonnes (2).
Under ordinary circumstances, gas flaring by Shell
in Nigeria produces 4 per cent of all greenhouse
gases in Sub-Saharan Africa (2)(4). Flaring by all
the oil companies in Nigeria together equals 10
per cent of emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Shell’s gas flaring in Nigeria seems to be
declining. Shell reported lower emissions in 2007
and 2008. According to Shell, flaring decreased
by 30 per cent between 2002 and 2008 due to
measures such as exporting LNG (liquefied
natural gas) and converting gas in electric power
plants.
The largest portion, however, is the result of
shutting down oil operations in Ogoniland by
government order. That occurred following large-
scale protests by local people against pollution
by Shell. Before the protests, the emissions
amounted to 21 tonnes of greenhouse gases (2).
It is feared that Shell plans to start production
again as soon as possible and thus to carry on
with the flaring.
Wasted energy, wasted money
The gas that Shell flares in Nigeria is natural gas,
which could be gathered and used. The amount
of gas flared is equivalent to the amount of gas
used by three-quarters of all Dutch households.
This is thus a huge waste of energy and money.
Gas flared in Nigeria was worth 1.5 million dollars
in 2007 alone. It has been estimated that 27
billion dollars worth of gas has been wasted over
the years.
This is even more deplorable when one considers
that most people in the Niger Delta still have no
electricity in their homes. According to the World
Bank (1), gas flared by oil companies in Africa in
2000 would have been sufficient to provide half
of all electricity used in Africa that year.

The Nigerian government has developed a gas

master plan, which would provide gas-fuelled
electric plants, helping to restrict the gas flaring
and furnishing a much-needed supplement to
Nigerian electricity provision (5). Shell has so far
built two electric power plants in the Niger Delta. Air pollution from gas flaring. Photo: Struan Simpson
The progress of other projects lags behind.

Sources

(1) ICF Consulting Ltd and Triple E Systems Associates

Ltd
2006, Nigeria Carbon Credit Development for Flare
Reduction Projects, Guidebook.

(2) Shell plc 2009, 2007, Sustainability Report 2008, 2006

(3) World Bank 2004, Report No.3 Global Gas Flaring

Initiative: Regulation of Associated Gas Flaring and
Venting – A global overview and lessons learned.

(4) World Resources Institute http://earthtrends.wri.org/

(5) EIA 2005 country analysis brief Nigeria,

www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/nigeria.html

Milieudefensie, April 2010