The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, says it is intensifying efforts to end routine gas flaring by 2030 through stricter penalties, improved infrastructure and investments to convert wasted gas into commercially useful products.
The commission’s Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, stated this at the Emogas International Natural Gas-Based Industry Conference and Exhibition, EINGICE 2026, in Abuja.
Eyesan who was represented by the Deputy Director of Gas Utilisation at NUPRC, Janice Anyanwu, said Nigeria had reduced gas flaring from about 90 per cent of production in the past to approximately seven per cent.
Despite the progress, she noted that the country still flared about 500 million standard cubic feet of gas daily.
She identified inadequate infrastructure, high investment costs and low gas volumes at some sites as major challenges to ending the practice, stressing the need for further investment in gas development.
The NUPRC chief executive said the commission launched the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme in 2021 and auctioned 42 flare sites to third-party investors to support the utilisation of previously wasted gas.
She explained that the programme includes projects such as mini-liquefied natural gas, LNG, plants and liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, facilities, which are expected to turn flared gas into valuable products.
On enforcement, Eyesan said the Petroleum Industry Act set the gas-flaring penalty at two dollars per thousand standard cubic feet, with additional penalties for operators who exceed approved limits.
She said Nigeria had proven gas reserves of 215.19 trillion cubic feet as of January 1, representing an estimated reserve life of 85 years.
According to her, the country produced an average of 7.42 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily in 2025, with about 92.4 per cent utilised.
Eyesan attributed increased investor interest to regulatory reforms, including Executive Order 40 of 2024 citing the Ubeta, HI and Ima gas projects, which have a combined potential production capacity of about one billion cubic feet daily.
She added that the commission was developing a gas-swap framework and had opened a licensing round offering 40 blocks.
Also speaking at the conference, the Managing Director of Oando Energy Resources Nigeria Limited, Ainojie Irune, called on African countries to focus on turning their gas resources into economic value rather than concentrating only on the size of their reserves.
Speaking on “Driving Gas Industrialisation through Innovative and Upstream Petroleum Investment Decisions,” Irune said Africa would need about one trillion dollars in investment in its gas industry by 2050 to unlock its full potential.
He said natural gas could improve electricity supply, strengthen manufacturing and promote industrial development, noting that nearly 600 million Africans lacked access to electricity.
Irune said Nigeria’s gas industry was still held back by inadequate infrastructure, uncertain payment arrangements and delays in commercial decisions.
He added that more than 55 trillion cubic feet of discovered gas remained undeveloped or awaited commercialisation.
He stressed that gas projects required cooperation among producers, pipeline operators, power plants, industrial consumers, financiers and governments.
He explained that producers needed committed buyers, buyers required reliable pipelines, and pipeline developers needed guaranteed gas supplies before investing.
Irune called for better-connected gas supply systems, reliable infrastructure, bankable contracts and stable regulatory policies to attract investment and ensure consistent delivery.
He urged stakeholders to measure progress by actual gas supplied and investments completed rather than reserves discovered or projects announced.
The conference brought together energy industry leaders, policymakers, investors, regulators and technology innovators with the themed “Accelerating Africa’s Global LNG Trade Share and Driving Gas Industrialisation,” examined investment opportunities, upstream collaboration, LNG market expansion, gas-based industries and the use of artificial intelligence in energy development.
