by Kayode Adeleke, CEO, RusselSmith
Nigeria has made significant efforts in reducing the flaring of associated gas over the past few years. However, we are still a long way from eliminating routine flaring in the country, and too much gas remains wasted and burnt into the atmosphere.
Whilst commendable initiatives such as the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) have been put in place by the government to monetize associated gas, the private sector needs to step up and find new ways to build the processing and monetization infrastructure that we need to extract as much value as possible from our gas.
Globally, the oil & gas industry has succeeded in finding ways to transform even the smallest quantities of gas into commodities such as diesel, naphtha, LPG, CNG, or LNG. With its vast gas reserves, Nigeria offers a fertile ground to adopt such innovations, and the Nigerian services industry has an important role to play in introducing world-class gas processing technologies to the Nigerian market.
A key challenge to the elimination of flaring in Nigeria is the proliferation of flare sites across the Niger Delta, which have made it more difficult to access or aggregate gas. However, this challenge presents unique opportunities for service companies to deploy modular and small-scale gas processing solutions from an off-take as small as 2 MMscf/d.
Nigerian services companies are particularly wellplaced to take on such a responsibility, given the strong capacity that they have built over the past decade. Their ability to attract and work with global technology providers can help turn the country’s gas into valuable commodities for its industries and its economy.
Nigeria already has several success stories of local companies working with global partners to monetize flared gas. With the recent introduction of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), now is the time to build on these successes and take them to the next level.
At RusselSmith, we see tremendous prospects in gas, from small to large scale developments. In order to support the decarbonization of upstream operations and increase the availability of key products such as cooking gas, RusselSmith, through its gas subsidiary, G2L Energy Solutions, is notably working with an international partner to offer new and modular gas-to-liquids technology solutions to the Nigerian market.
Our commitment to improving gas commercialization is driven by a firm belief that the success of any industry depends on the ability of its service providers to be innovative and provide their market with sustainable solutions.