The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), is seeking partnership with key petroleum stakeholders, to effectively manage gas flaring in the country.
RMAFC Spokesperson, Mr Christian Nwachukwu, who disclosed in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the aim was to boost the country’s revenue profile.
Nwachukwu said that the commission made the proposal when it received delegates from the Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission ( NUPRC), and the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that gas flaring is the term for burning off the gas which comes out of the ground while drilling for oil.
The spokesman said that RMAFC Chairman, Mr Bello Shehu, had told the delegation that the commission’s aim was to ensure that such gas flaring management measures were in line with global best practices.
Shehu said that the collaboration was an effort to stop the huge revenue losses recorded by the country, and to increase revenue for Nigeria.
He said that in view of the concerted efforts by the current administration to shore up the country’s revenue, the gas sector of the economy must be given adequate attention.
He expressed optimism that this was achievable with NUPRC and NOSDRA, as the regulatory bodies saddled with the responsibility of determining quality and quantity of gas production, and also adherence to environmental standards.
The RMAFC boss further called on all relevant stakeholders in the petroleum and gas sector, including the Federal Government Revenue Monitoring Committee, to proffer effective strategies that would convert gas flaring for economic gains.
NUPRC’s Director of Economic Regulation and Strategic Planning, Mr Babajide Fashino, on his part, said that Nigeria was at the forefront of managing gas flaring in line with global best practices for economic growth and sustainability.
Fashino said that this had been achievable through the introduction of metering system and calibration of the meters for accurate records of gas management.
According to him, the introduction of such technologies have gone a long way in reducing gas flaring in Nigeria from 40 per cent to seven per cent.
In her remarks, Mrs Margaret Adeshida, NOSDRA’s ICT Director, said that there was need for proper monitisation of gas flaring in Nigeria.
Adeshida said Nigeria flared more than 4.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas, which led to the country’s loss of more than 14.6 billion dollars in revenue, between 2012 and 2021.
She said that this was in addition to the 8.3 billion dollars loss in penalty for the wastage, summing up to 22.9 billion dollars loss within the same period under review.