Gas Flaring and Venting Associated with Petroleum Exploration and Production in the Nigeria’s Niger Delta

Abstract

Global flaring and venting of petroleum-associated gas is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and airborne contaminants that has proven difficult to mitigate over the years. In the petroleum industry, poor efficiency in the flare systems often result in incomplete combustion which produces a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and inorganic contaminants. Over the past fifty years, gas flaring and venting associated with petroleum exploration and production in the Nigeria's Niger Delta has continue to generate complex consequences in terms of energy, human health, natural environment, socioeconomic environment and sustainable development. In some oil-producing host communities, most flaring and ventingsystems are located in close proximity to residential areas and/or farmlands; and the resultant emissions potentially contribute to global warming as well as somelocal and/or regional adverse environmental impacts.There are emerging facts in an attempt to understand the effect of flaring and venting practices and the complex interactions of thermal pollution, organic and inorganic contaminants emission in the environment. This review discusses environmental contamination, adverse human health consequences, socioeconomic problems, degradation of host communities and other associated impacts of flaring and venting of associated gas in the petroleum industry in the Niger Delta. Effective understanding of the overall impact of associated gas flaring and venting in the petroleum industry is important for effective management of the energy resources, environmental risk mitigation, implementation of good governanceand sustainable development.

Gas Flaring in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: Cost, Ecological and Human Health Implications

“…They found that gas flaring contributes to the poor environmental quality and severe human health issues in areas close to the flare sites. The empirical results in Ite and Ibok (2013) were consistent with the results in Ayansina et al (2010) which suggests that gas flaring contributes to the global climate change and hurts environmental sustainability. Pamela Stokes observed that acid precipitation that leads to acidification is a rising problem that reduces the species richness of an area (Stokes, 1986).…”

“…Ite and Ibok explained that flaring and venting APG in the Niger Delta contribute about 35 million metric tons yearly of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and other forms of GHGs to the region's atmosphere (Ite & Ibok, 2013). They found that gas flaring contributes to the poor environmental quality and severe human health issues in areas close to the flare sites.…”

“…Shore (1996), Kindzierski (1999), Leahey et al (2001), andKostiuk et al (2004) find that emissions from flaring are influenced by factors such as the vent design, operating conditions, and chemical combustion. Ite and Ibok (2013) argued from an operational perspective that about 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas discharged daily in the Niger Delta area is influenced by the energy density of the gas stream, the flare system design, the composition of the gas, and environmental conditions. Their argument is that combustion efficiency depends on the environmental conditions discussed in Strosher (2000), Shore (1996) and Leahey (2001) such as wind speed, stack exit velocity, stoichiometric mixing ratio, and the heating values are seldom successful in realizing complete combustion.…”

An Assessment of the Role of Ice Hydrometeor-Types in WRF Bulk Microphysical Schemes in Simulating Two Heavy Rainfall Events over Southern Nigeria

“…We speculated that it may have played a crucial role in the underestimation of the simulated rainfall. The area of our study is known for its oil exploration and gas flaring [35,36] which makes it one of the most polluted parts of Africa due to an abundance of aerosols concentration. According to reference [37], when cloud droplets and aerosols interact, they form numerous but smaller, droplets for a given liquid water content resulting in larger cloud albedo called the first indirect effect.…”

Addressing Environmental Health Problems in Ogoniland through Implementation of United Nations Environmental Program Recommendations: Environmental Management Strategies

“…It has the largest mangrove forests in Africa, and is the third largest in the world. It represents the most abundant part of the country in terms of petroleum resources, and diverse natural ecosystems, supportive of numerous species of terrestrial and water-living organisms [9][10][11].…”