Feature: Up in Smoke - Nigeria's continued reliance on gas flaring

Categories: Gas flares
      Date: Thu,  9 Apr 2009
     Title: Feature: Up in Smoke - Nigeria's continued reliance on gas flaring

Stakeholder Democracy Network Niger Delta Discussion Series

Before Christmas 2008, SDN commissioned longstanding gas journalist Chris Cragg to review the data and some of the debates around gas flaring in Nigeria using his experience of reporting on the industry to try and bring some fresh perspectives.

>> Read the full article here

You can also watch this CNN news reports on gas flaring in Nigeria

The paper that follows lays out his initial perspective, based on experience of how the industry has developed elsewhere and an examination of data that at times has been frustrating in its opacity.

His examination of the topic has reminded us of the scale of the problems and the opportunities that have arisen from years of neglect.

Chris makes no claim that this paper is conclusive â€“ it is more of a work in progress that we hope will engender more informed and creative debate at a time where there is a risk that gas flaring as an issue will be sucked once again into a vortex of inaction where excuses of â€œcapital investment needsâ€, conflict, and a lack of transparency fuel an unproductive blame game between government and companies.

We hope that in coming months companies will be persuaded to be more open with their data and that government agencies can bring renewed vigour to addressing a problem where progress over the last decade seems questionable at best.

With a topic of wasted energy that equates to 30% of the UKâ€™s North Sea gas production or the equivalent of gas use by 23 Washington DCs we hope that you will enjoy this report and other recommended reading.