Multinational oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria flared over 92 million standard cubic feet of gas, worth an estimated N150.8 billion, between January and April 2023.

The figure represents a 79.5 per cent increase against 50.3mscf of gas flared last year.

This was contained in a recent National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) report.

It stated also that the oil-producing firms responsible for this flaring are expected to pay penalties of $184.6 million (an equivalent of N85.7 billion) for breaching the gas flaring laws in the four months.

The report further noted that the volume of gas flared in the four months is equivalent to 4.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission and has a power generation potential of 9,200 gigawatts of electricity per hour.

NOSDRA stated this on a month-on-month basis, saying the report covered January, February, March and April, and that 23.2 mscf, 27.1 mscf, 25.9 mscf and 16.1 mscf of gas were flared, respectively.