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European Journal of Applied Sciences – Vol. 9, No. 5

Publication Date: October 25, 2021

DOI:10.14738/aivp.95.10872. Ezeokoro, C. E., Leton, T. G., & Momoh, Y. (2021). Predication of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Gas Flaring Activities in the Niger- Delta Area of Nigeria. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(5). 243-250.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Predication of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Gas Flaring

Activities in the Niger-Delta Area of Nigeria

C. E. Ezeokoro

Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and Environment

University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

T. G. Leton

Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and Environment

University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Y. Momoh

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Because of crude-oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria as a

Country flares about 17.2 billion m3 of natural gas per capita year. An assessment

of the historical data on the gas flared between 1965 to 2019 in the Oil-rich Niger- Delta region of Nigeria was carried out. A linear regression model was used to

estimate the cumulative volume of gas flared up till the year 2030 using R. The

findings show the total CH4 and N2O emission between 1965 to 1974 was 2281324

and 1229722 respectively. There was a steady increase in the estimated CH4 and

N2O emissions until 2004. The prediction of cumulative gas flared showed an

exponential increase in the cumulative greenhouse gases flared to about 8.8 x 109

metric tons by the year 2030. Overall, the study revealed a striking cause for

concern due to the predicted continuous increasing amount of gas flaring and

release of greenhouse gas emissions which could have significant effects on the

environment.

Keywords: Greenhouse gas, Gas flaring, Niger-delta, Emissions.

INTRODUCTION

Gas flaring is one of the utmost challenging energy and universal environmental issues facing

the globe these days (Ismail and Umukoro, 2012). It is an undeniable fact that exploration of oil

and gas resources comes with great economic gains for all country blessed with crude-oil. It

makes available a robust base for creation of wealth and building a continuous economy.

Opposing to the economic gains, there are also some negative concerns associated with poorly

managed crude oil extraction (Amorin and Broni-Bediako 2013). As a result of crude-oil

exploration activities in the Niger Delta Region (NDR), Nigeria as a Country flares about 17.2

billion m3 of natural gas per capita year. This is about one-quarter of the modern power

consumption in continent of African (Ajugwo, 2013). Historically, Gas flaring in Nigeria began

at the inception of oil production in the country in 1958 and so did a realization of its unsavory

reputation (ERA 2005). Recent statistics ranks Nigeria as the second major gas-flaring country

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European Journal of Applied Sciences (EJAS) Vol. 9, Issue 5, October-2021

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

in the globe only next to Russia (IRIN 2015; Ndubuisi and Olaode 2015). While huge sums of

money are continuously lost yearly in the past five decades owing to gas flaring processes, the

environmental effect connected with this is immeasurable, overwhelming, and far reaching

(Odumugbo, 2010). The UNDP/World Bank (2004), in its report, estimated that Nigeria's gas

flaring is close to 2.5 million cubic feet (over 70 million cubic meters) daily, amounting to about

70 million tonnes of carbon dioxide daily emission. In addition, the report estimated that

Nigeria accounts for 12.5 percent of total flared natural gas in the world. Hence, it becomes very

necessary to study the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions from gas flaring activities in Niger

delta to ascertain the volume and determine Nigeria’s contribution to the global pool of

greenhouse gases and most importantly make an attempt to provide a standard automated GHG

estimation tool. The study was carried out to simulate the greenhouse gas emissions from gas

flaring activities in the Niger Delta, Nigeria.

LITERATURE REVIEWS

Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases and vapours, primarily methane, propane,

butane, pentane, and hexane, that is used to make gaseous forms of petroleum (Natural gas and

Energy, 1998).

Flaring is the process of combusting related gas produced by crude oil or gas fields. Gas flaring

is the controlled burning of natural gas that cannot be processed for sale or use due to technical

or economic reasons, (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 2012). Gas flaring is a

local and regional issue that is particularly prevalent in developing countries like Nigeria,

where ethically unethical gas flaring has contributed significantly to the region's environmental

degradation Nigeria is said to have one of the highest rates of gas flaring in the world. In the

year 2000, Nigeria flared roughly 76 percent of its natural gas (Alakpodia, 2002). The purpose

of flare is to oxidize sub-stances in the flare gas stream to make them as safe as feasible. Gas

emissions in Nigeria has been a matter of serious argument both in the local and foreign

environment as the effort of the government and other bodies to bring it to an end has proven

to be futile. In a report by Shaaban and Petintin (2014, in the Niger Delta, from 1970-1986, the

sum of 125.5 million m3 of gas were produced and 102.3 million m3 were flared. Gas flaring

leads to loss of money. The total estimated amount of Black Carbon (BC) (baseline emissions)

emitted into the atmosphere because of continuous gas flaring activities in the Niger Delta

region of Nigeria for a period of 49 years was 1.63 tcm (33.21 bcm yearly), and the total volume

of gas flared accounting for the amount of BC (4.56 -105 ton) 895.01 bcm was issued into this

region (18.27 bcm yearly). This amount of gas flared accounts for 55.0 percent of the entire

volume of gas produced over the previous 49 years (Solomon et al., 2014). Using a natural gas

price of $3 per 1000 cubic feet ($0.106 per cubic meter), the total cost of gas flared for the 49-

year period was $94.87 billion, not including the irreversible and unquantifiable damage to the

environment (Egger et al., 2013). This is equivalent to 49 years; the country has lost an average

of $3.52 billion (33.21 billion cubic meters of gas) owing to gas flaring in the region.

Warming of the Planet is another negative consequence of gas flaring. It has contributed greatly

to global warming, climate change, and the depletion of the ozone layer, all of which are

environmental hazards (Oduneka, Effiom, and Ubi, 2012). "The global average surface

temperature has increased by around 0.6°C over the twentieth century," (Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change PCC; 2013).

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Ezeokoro, C. E., Leton, T. G., & Momoh, Y. (2021). Predication of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Gas Flaring Activities in the Niger-Delta Area of

Nigeria. European Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(5). 243-250.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/aivp.95.10872

Global warming has an impact all across the world, with varied degrees of impact. While some

countries may gain from a shift to more temperate temperatures, others may be affected by

low-lying Pacific islands. Sea levels, forests, agriculture, natural ecosystems, and population

distribution could all be affected by the expected rise in global temperatures (Birnie, Boyle and

Redgwell, 2009). Acid rain is caused by the interaction of atmospheric water and sulphuric

oxides with nitrogen during gas flaring (Nwankwo and Ogagarue, 2011). This is a major

ecological hazard that is thought to be an unavoidable consequence of flaring. When released

gases such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the soil, which are designed to assist plant

growth, become unavailable, these events become progressively problematic (Alakpodia,

2000). The concentration of heavy metals in the soil structure increases as a result of gas flaring

pollution. As a result, cultivated crops and marine systems are affected, disrupting a significant

source of survival in places like the Niger delta. Communities like this are left without a source

of income due to the degradation of land and water sources making living a daily struggle

despite the vast amounts of wealth being extracted from production (Dung et al., 2008).

Solomon, Oluwakayode and Olasunkanmi (2014) in their study on baseline black carbon

emissions for gas flaring in the Niger delta region of Nigeria. Their goal was to investigated the

amount of BC that was flared in Niger Delta from (1965-2013) which is 49years. Within the

study period, it was discovered that 55% of the gas produced was emitted in at a huge quantity

which is 4.56-105 tons (4.11 _108 tons CO2 equivalent) of BC to the atmosphere. Consistently

increasing (5.06 _104 e1.27 _ 105 tons) in the first 10years 1965 to 1974 to fourth decade

reducing drastically (8.74 _ 104 tons) from 1995 and 2004 in the amounts of BC emitted in the

fifth decade (2005 to2013). The study suggested decrease in BC emission by encouraging the

use of gas for transportation in Nigeria. Their study also found that the volume of flared gas is

equal to the It was found that the amount of GHGs released into the atmosphere is equal to the

quantity produced. Giwa, Sulaiman, and Nwaokocha (2017) carried out a study on (GHGs)

inventory emitted in the environment by consuming fuels (gasoline and diesel) from 1980 to

2014 in Nigeria. They found the total quantity of GHG released within the study period was 7.30

x 108 tCO2e which includes, 5.20 x 108 tCO2 e and 2.10 x 108 tCO2 e of gasoline and diesel,

respectively. Going by their discovery, gasoline consumption was accounted for 71.23% of the

over-all sum of GHGs with CO2 making up 98.72 % (CH4 = 1.39 % and N2O = 0.61 %) of the

emissions.

The NNPC's January 2019 report Oil companies burned up to 610.07 million standard cubic feet

of gas each day. NNPC report (2019), out of 244.65 billion standard cubic feet (BCF) of gas

provided in January 2019, a total of 151.5 billion BCF of gas was commercialized, including

38.03 billion BCF for the local market and 113.47 billion BCF for the international market and,

respectively, export markets. The results show that the amount of gas flared in the oil industry

remains high.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

Study Area

The study was carried out in the Oil-rich Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. The region comprises of

six states (Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom) where oil exploration is

carried out on land and offshore along the coast of the country. The country’s oil and gas

reserves are majorly set down in the Niger Delta Area and they are the core of the economy.

More than 90% or more of the country’s foreign incomes have originated from crude oil and

natural gas earnings for an extended period. The area of study is well-known for its