Everyone seems to like the phrase "visible from space" because it reminds us of what our technology has been able to accomplish. It is used so often, the phrase is becoming trite. This sight too, is visible from space, but it is not a pretty one. The gas flares of Nigeria burn brighter than the city lights of the capital, Lagos. The profligate waste of a valuable natural resource makes it difficult for nearby Nigerians to breath, and contributes significantly to global warming. Medical studies in Nigeria's oil rich delta region show that gas burning contributes to a high infant mortality rate and an adult life expectancy of 43 years. Officially flaring is illegal since 1984. The corrupt central government has set three separate deadlines for stopping the practice. The latest one is December 31 this year. But the waste continues unabated for a stark economic reason: It is cheaper to flare off the gas, than build the infrastructure needed to process it and bring the product to market.
Nigeria is by no means alone in the amount of flaring of natural gas, but only the Russian Federation flares more. According to the
first global satellite survey of the practice commissioned by NOAA, Nigeria has actually reduced the amount of flaring over the past twelve years. The dispute over the amount of flaring is whether the ongoing civil unrest in the delta that has halved oil production is responsible for the reduction in the amount of gas burned. The flares are color coded in this composite image 1992 is blue, 2000 is green and 2006 is red. World wide flaring has remained stable, but a huge amount of natural gas is simply wasted every year. An estimated 170bcm was flared in 2006 or 27% of the total US natural gas consumption for that year. That amount of wasted gas would have had a market value of about $40 billion in the US. The burning creates 400 million tons of CO₂ or more than the total emissions of France. Flaring, while a cheap way to dispose of natural gas, is not 100% efficient. Unknown amounts of methane--a more potent greenhouse gas than CO₂--escapes into the atmosphere. An independent oil and gas
expert told the
Independent newspaper the flares are "a continuing economic, political and environmental disaster".
Nigeria officials blame the major oil companies operating in the Niger Delta for the waste, while oil companies blame the government for failing to create infrastructure and domestic demand. Furthermore the companies say they are forced to operate as junior partners in joint ventures with the government. Nigeria has some of the world's sweetest crude that attracted companies in the 1950s to develop its oil fields. But Nigeria has always had more gas than oil. Slapping fines on the oil companies is largely meaningless to an industry that supplies 80% of the nation's income. Flaring of associated gas cannot be eliminated entirely, but it can be reduced, especially continuous flaring that wastes the most gas. In 2002 the World Bank and Norway started a global initiative to reduce flaring. The partnership now has 12 country members and 10 industry participants. Despite their good intentions the major hurdles of lack of regulation, lack of markets, and lack of infrastructure remain. A Nigerian environmental activist told the
Independent that the oil companies are not serious about ending the waste; "They will never stop gas flaring until the oil wells run dry."
[image: www.news.mongabay.com]
