In Two Months, Nigeria Lost N118 Billion to Gas Flaring: Shell, NPDC, others to Pay $141.9 Million in Fines

John Obe 

Nigeria lost $78.2 million (N118.864 billion) in the first two months of 2025 due to gas flaring operations, according to the National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency (NOSDRA). This comes as Senator Abubakar Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, said the federal government is using data-driven domestic strategies to meet its energy transition goals. NOSDRA's gas flaring report for January and February 2025 said that the N118 billion lost in the first two months of 2025 represents 31.48% of the total amount lost to gas flaring during that time. 

The agency also reported that oil and gas companies operating in the country produced 22.3 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF) of gas from their offshore operations.

The government reports that 22.3 billion standard cubic feet (BSCF) of gas were produced by the nation's oil and gas corporations' offshore operations.  

The Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) current exchange rate of N1,520 to the dollar was used by the agency to compute the loss.  The amount of gas that was flared from the offshore sector of the industry in January and February, according to the environmental watchdog, contributed 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and had the potential to generate 2,200 gigawatts of electricity per hour. 

The companies that flared the gas were also subject to penalties totaling $44.7 million (N67.944 billion).

Offshore oil and gas companies burned 29.2 BSCF of gas during the same period in 2024, worth $102.3 million (N155.496 billion), with $58.4 billion (N88.768 billion) in penalties due, 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, and 2,900 GWh of potential power output.  

The agency clarified that the 71.0 BSCF of gas that the oil and gas industries flared in the first two months of 2025 could have produced 7,100 gigawatts of energy per hour and contributed 3.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere.  

According to the study, "the defaulting companies were liable for penalties payment of $141.9 million, approximately N215.688 billion."

NOSDRA reported that the offending companies flared gas from Oil Mining Leases, OMLs, 04, 05, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 28, 23, 24, 38, 40, 42, 43, 72, 49, 54, 90, 95, 67, 70, 104, 59, 99, 100, 101, 102 and Oil Prospecting Licences, OPLs, 222, 316 and 306, among others.

The agency listed the offending companies as Shell Petroleum, Development Company (SPDC), Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Chevron Nigeria, Mobil Oil, Elf Petroleum Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Oilo Company (NAOC), Addax Petroleum, Texaco Overseas (Nigeria), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, Allied Energy Resources, Ultramar Petroleum, Atlas Petroleum, Cromwell, Afric Oil and Marketing, Famfa Oil, Moni Pulo, and South Atlantic Petroleum, among others.

In his keynote address at the Global South Peer Learning Workshop on Country Platforms for Climate Action and Just Energy Transition, held Tuesday in Abuja, the minister emphasized that the country was working hard to address the issue by implementing its Energy Transition Plan (ETP). He said that Nigeria had prioritized five sectors, which he said "account for about 65% of Nigeria’s total greenhouse gas emissions." He added that the country’s goals remained to provide universal energy access, reduce poverty, promote economic growth, and create jobs. The energy transition plan is multifaceted, aiming to reduce emissions and improve sustainability across all important economic sectors, Bagudu said.

John Obe