The Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, during a working visit to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in Abuja.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has warned that awardees of flare gas sites risk losing their permits if they fail to utilise the sites or demonstrate significant progress within one year of receiving their awards.
The Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this during a working visit to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in Abuja.
Eyesan, while presenting an update on the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), said the commission would continue to monitor the progress of companies that had been awarded flare gas sites.
She explained that the regulatory framework required the commission to assess the performance of awardees one year after an award had been granted.
“One year after an award has been granted, the Commission conducts an evaluation to determine whether there has been considerable progress,” Eyesan said.
She added that where an awardee failed to demonstrate sufficient progress, the commission would take appropriate regulatory measures.
“Where there is insufficient progress, the Commission will take appropriate regulatory action, including revocation of the award where necessary,” she said.
The warning underscores the commission’s renewed push to ensure that flare gas resources are commercially harnessed rather than allowed to remain wasted through routine gas flaring.
The NGFCP is designed to facilitate the development of projects that capture and commercialise natural gas that would otherwise be flared at oil production facilities.
Through the programme, investors and project developers are expected to deploy infrastructure and technologies capable of converting flare gas into commercially useful products, while helping to reduce the environmental impact associated with gas flaring.
The NUPRC has increasingly placed emphasis on the implementation of awarded flare gas projects, as delays in developing the sites could undermine the objectives of the commercialisation programme.
The commission’s monitoring of awardees is therefore intended to ensure that companies granted rights under the programme move from the award stage to actual project development.
Eyesan’s warning also signals that the commission is prepared to use its regulatory powers to enforce compliance where awardees fail to meet the required milestones.
The NGFCP forms part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to reduce gas flaring, increase domestic gas availability and unlock investments in the country’s gas value chain.
Gas flaring has remained a major concern in Nigeria’s oil-producing communities, with the practice associated with greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and the loss of potentially valuable energy resources.
The commercialisation of flare gas is expected to create opportunities for investors while supporting Nigeria’s transition towards greater utilisation of natural gas for power generation, industrial production and other economic activities.
THE WHISTLER had in June reported tha tNigeria flared 37.6 billion cubic metres of gas between 2021 and 2025. This was in spite of the country’s policy and target of ending gas flaring by the end of 2025.
At the cost of $323m per bcm of gas, the monetary value of the gas flared by the country within the five years under review is valued at $12.15bn. This translates to about N16.79tn.
The World Bank provided the statistics of the losses incurred by oil and gas producing nations in its 2026 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report which was obtained by our correspondent on Monday.
According to the report, Nigeria ranks eight among gas flaring nations of the world. The report also indicated that rather than reducing, Nigeria gas flare increased by eight per cent between 2024 and 2025.
In 2025 alone, the country lost eight billion cubic metres of gas valued at $2.59bn. On the global scale, the world lost 167 billion cubic metres of gas valued at $54bn.
Details of the report showed that Nigeria flared 7.3bcm of gas valued at $2.36bn in 2021. In 2022, the quantity and value increased slightly to 7.4bcm and $2.39bn respectively.
Again, the quantity and value rose slightly to 7.5bcm and $2.42bn in 2023. They decreased marginally the following year, 2024, to 7.4bcm and $2.39bn respectively.
However, by 2025, the gas flared by the country rose significantly to 8bcm valued at $2.59bn.
According to the report, Nigeria is one of the nine countries responsible for 83 per cent of global gas flaring. The top nine countries, however, account for only 46 per cent of global oil production.
The top gas-flaring countries for 2025 are Russia, 30bcm; Iran, 24bcm; Iraq, 24bcm; Venezuela, 14bcm; Mexico, 10bcm; Libya, 9bcm; Algeria, 9bcm; Nigeria, 8bcm; United States, 5bcm; and 10, Saudi Arabia, 2.5bcm.
Thus, Libya, Algeria, and Nigeria are Africa’s three largest gas-flaring countries with Nigeria being the largest gas-flaring nation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Angola and the Republic of Congo were also reported to flare significant quantities with 2.5bcm and 2.3bcm respectively.
According to the report, Africa continues to lose valuable energy resources through flaring.
The report noted that gas flaring increased by eight per cent for Nigeria compared with 2024. Within the same period, Nigeria’s oil production also rose by about eight per cent.
This means that the increase in flaring largely tracked higher production rather than worsen efficiency.
The key causes of gas flaring in Nigeria were attributed to inadequate gas gathering and transportation infrastructure, insufficient capacity to bring associated gas to market, and aging gas-processing plants with frequent downtime.