ECONOMY-NIGERIA: The Fires That Burn Too Brightly

By Sam Olukoya Reprint | | Print |

Sam Olukoya

LAGOS, Aug 26 2004 (IPS) - At a beach on Akassa Island in Nigeria’s southern Niger Delta region, Robert Cole tries to protect the eggs of turtles that come ashore to breed. But, it’s not predators or people who collect the eggs that concern Cole: he’s worried about gas flares burning around the beach.

“The turtles will only come to the beach under the cover of darkness; but, the gas flares burning so brightly normally prevent them from doing so,” says Cole.

Light of this sort may also pose a danger to turtle hatchlings. According to the Washington-based World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the brightest light on a beach normally comes from the sea, because of reflection from the water, amongst other things. This light directs newly hatched turtles towards the sea.

But, when illumination is also provided by other sources – roads and buildings, for example – the hatchlings become disoriented. “Instead of finding the ocean, the hatchlings fall prey to predators or die the following day from the heat of the sun,” says the WWF on its website.

The flares in the Niger Delta are huge balls of fire that burn fiercely and noisily as they emerge from stacks, disposing of waste gases created during oil production (Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producer).

At present, Nigeria flares more gas than any other country in the world. The state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says that about 40 percent of gas produced in the country – almost 23 billion cubic metres – is burned annually.

“The flaring of such a large quantity of gas is a huge economic waste. Other oil producing countries utilize their gas for economic ventures,” Steve Ubana, an economist, told IPS.

Isaac Osuaka of the Oil Watch Africa lobby group says the practice also contributes to global warming.

“Carbon dioxide and methane, which are major green house gases, are emitted during gas flaring. These gases destroy the ozone layer thereby causing climate change. So we have a situation where gas flaring in the Niger Delta area contributes to producing green house gases, which results in climate change,” he said in an interview with IPS.

In addition, flaring appears to have a more immediate effect on the environment. It releases chemicals into the atmosphere that combine with water to produce what is commonly referred to as ôacid rain” û something villagers blame for the corrosion of their roofs.

“If you look at the roofing sheets, where they used galvanized sheets, you will see the thing corrodes easily,” Lawal Olumuyiwa of Kongo village told IPS.

Other forms of pollution are also evident. “We have a situation where communities that depend on rain water for drinking have to contend with contamination and soot. Their rain water is blackened because of the soot that comes out of the gas flares,” says Osuaka.

Adds Olumuyiwa, “If you drink the rain water in this area it is bitter and actually, I don’t think rain water should be bitter.”

Although many communities in the Niger Delta lack electricity, they – like the turtles – know no darkness. “The brightness from the gas flares is a nuisance to the eyes,” says Cole. Some of the flares have been burning almost non-stop for more than 30 years.

While oil multinationals dispute local claims of adverse effects from the gas flares, Nigerian authorities have acknowledged that flaring poses a problem. Government efforts to curb the practice began as far back as 1969, when oil companies were given five years to phase out flaring.

But, this deadline has proved very elastic. Since 1969, the government has continued to extend it at the request of the oil firms, which routinely cite the absence of projects that can make use of gas as one of their main reasons for missing deadlines. The companies are also said to have claimed that the technologies for reducing flaring still require research, at a cost too heavy for them to bear.

Two years ago, the date for phasing out flaring was extended yet again – to 2008. Many are sceptical as to whether it will be observed.

But Funsho Kupolokun, group managing director of the NNPC, claims gas flaring has been significantly reduced since President Olusegun Obasanjo came to power in 1999.

“Since 1999, the flare ratio has been reducing steadily,” he said recently, during the signing ceremony to inaugurate phase six of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas project (NLNG). According to Kupolokun, the amount of waste gas being flared has dropped from 68 percent of the total to 40 percent – thanks to government’s promotion of projects that make use of the gas, such as the NLNG.

Other projects that are being planned include the West African Gas Pipeline, designed to supply gas for power generation in neighbouring states – and the one billion dollar ChevronTexaco Gas-to-Liquids Project. This will enable natural gas produced from ChevronTexaco’s oil fields to be converted to synthetic crude oil. A trans-Saharan pipeline that will transport gas to Europe through Algeria is also on the drawing board.

Kupolokun agrees that more projects will be needed to “mop up” gas if the 2008 deadline is to be met. But he remains optimistic of its chances for success.

“There will soon be a well articulated gas policy, with fiscal terms that will encourage rapid development of the industry,” he said. ôThe policy will improve the prospects of the large number of gas projects waiting to be sanctioned."