[johntheexpat]

Well, I read this and wondered.

'Nigeria's gas profits up in smoke'

A very poor country. With an energy crisis. And presumably huge amounts of corruption, but even so flaring the gas must be the worst possible option for everyone?

[DOBLY]

Indeed.

RDS and the like should be ashamed of themselves. By spending a bit more money they could capture and utilize the gas locally - wouldn't that be a PR coup?
Instead, they treat third world countries as profit centres, pure and simple, on a least cost, never a full cost basis.

[Synchro]

Its not easy to capture and reuse the gas (its my industry), only one platform in the UK is currently doing this (clair platform). Its takes design engineering solutions, that are built into platforms/processing at the start, not as extras added later.

Lots more to consider, than just not-burning the waste gas ;-) Its not as easy as that I'm afraid.

[johntheexpat]

It may well cost money, but with all the pressure and media influence to reduce our CO2 emissions, surely this would be, while not cheap, a good pr exercise? Its just stupid that we are all under a constant flood of hype to reduce our CO2 emissions to 'save the planet' while gas flaring is happening so blatantly with 'cost' as the excuse. Something just doesn't ring true. (And don't forget that original story was also about the health implications, which should be reason enough in the 21st century to do something about it)

[Glenn Uk]

Interesting comments, however the situation in the Niger Delta is far from simple.

For example the costs that would be necessary to remove the gas at source would have to be borne by all the owners of SPDC (that's Shell Petroleum Development Company), the Nigerian company that is part owned by RDS. As i recall they own 45% the remainder being owned by the Nigerian government.

SPDC are one of many oil companies in the region, AGIP are another i recall from my visit there a while back.

Anyway, my view is that the primary reason for the problems in the Niger Delta are to do with corruption first and foremost. Given that Nigeria was exporting oil and importing petrol because there was insufficient capacity to refine it locally i think there are many issues in the region.

To blame RDS largely for the problems is in my view misplaced. They may have some of the blame but there are many others who have significant influence.

JMHO

Glenn

[johntheexpat]

Point taken. Its actually very easy to forget to look at the big picture and nit-pick the details. The first concern should be to sort out the rampant poverty caused by the even more rampant corruption at high levels of Nigerian Government.
Which won't happen.
So the flaring will continue.
Oh well.

[Glenn Uk]

John

whilst in Nigeria the extremes of poverty were astounding. I had heard stories about India but was totally unprepared for what i saw.

The level of poverty in the areas i travelled through was incredible, open running sewers in the middle of towns and villages, begging on a scale that you wouldnt believe and a dead person on the street on one occasion.

Running water and a regular electricity supply are not routine. My client had booked me into the Hilton for a few hours between flights when i first arrived there.

during the three hours i was in the room the power was on and off like a ticking clock. It was like that every time i went there, not just at the hilton in lagos, but every hotel i stayed in. The only exception was the facilities provided within the oil companies site.

The Nigerian Electriciy And Power Authority (NEPA), was know locally as 'Never Expect Power Always' a name they lived up to.

Whilst driving about during spells of rain, as we passed through villages the locals were collecting the rain water running off their roofs, it would not have been quite so suprising if it had been a one off, but it wasnt, village after village and town after town would be doing this as we drove along.

Then we were waiting at an airfiled for a flight which was delayed. Delayed for the arrival of the regional commissioner (i think he was called) His plane arrived, it was something of the size of a 737!

This is in a country where they have signficnat oil and mineral wealth and yet the average Nigerian lives on less than a dollar a day.

The oil companies are no duobt making massive profits out of Nigeria, but so are the nigerian government.

i have no answers but i have seen some of the problems and it makes sense as to why many nigerians want to get out and come to the UK.

Glenn