Gas flaring and its impact on electricity generation in Nigeria

• This research X-rays the power sector in Nigeria and identifies gas flaring as the bane of sustainable growth in the sector.
• The study affords the opportunity to recommend proactive and concrete developmental plan like local content policy which is the hallmark of inclusive growth among other measures.
• It could be deduced from the study that once all policy is followed to the letter and the regulatory agency is allowed to operate without political interference, this could allow sanctions by various agencies to be effective.
• The research also recommends quick passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which allows competition and effectiveness in the industries.

It‘s quite a challenging period at this crucial stage in Nigeria where there is enormous gap in power supply and demand. This paper examines power generation in Nigeria with a view to X-ray some of the challenges of irregular power supply and its associated implications. Critical assessments and methodological evaluations of the research are based on recent literature and publications from Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and Nigeria Gas Company (NGC). The major cause of irregular power supply in Nigeria is believed to be inconsistencies in government policies and shortfall in gas supply to power plants. Nigeria solely depends on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to fire its power plants and gas flaring has continuously hindered its smooth operation. The key objective of the study is to create public awareness on how best to tackle epileptic power supply in Nigeria and also create a mind-set that petroleum industry bill (PIB) is not about increment in petroleum products price as currently perceive by majority of Nigerians but all about sustainable development in the oil and gas industries. The authors believe that with the passage of petroleum industry bill and complete deregulation of power sector, Nigeria is set to join the league of sustained power generation and distribution. Petroleum industry bill (PIB) empowers the gas company to sell gas at competitive price which guarantee return on their investment. The current scenario where gas is delivered to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at virtually free price is not sustainable and further encourages gas flaring at the detriment of infrastructural development.