Main Article Content

Flaring Intensity Monitoring: Applications at Different Levels of Nigerian Petroleum Upstream Industry


P.N. Ndunagu
O.F. Joel
A.A. Oji
E.E. Alaike

Abstract

Flare volume measurement has been the sole yardstick for tracking flare gas reduction progress and provides a single view of monitoring in the context of its use. In this study, an alternative method was introduced to broaden the perspective of flare gas monitoring. Flaring intensity is a simple and effective measure for tracking flare gas reduction. Flaring Intensity index was applied in different levels of flare volume estimation, namely Oilfield, Oil Company, Petroleum Upstream Contract and Country. Nigerian Petroleum Production data were sourced from regulatory reports and satellite data from 2012 to 2015 and 2018 annual reports. The results revealed that Nigeria’s flaring intensity is on the decline due to exogenous factors and it illustrates flaring intensity as a comparative and benchmarking tool for gas flare performance at various hydrocarbon production levels. The study also inferred that improved flare gas measurement, transparency in reporting, robust regulation and increased gas handling infrastructure were necessary in order to mitigate flaring in Nigeria to achieve the 2030 Zero Routine Flaring target.


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2437-2110
print ISSN: 0189-9546