- Info
the west african gas pipeline
A major problem with oil and gas projects for communities in Nigeria has been the suffering caused by gas flaring.
wagp2
problem: Gas flaring
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Local children with
water containers near gas flares at
Umuebulu community in the Obigbo
oilfield, Etche local government area,
Port Harcourt, Niger Delta. image: Peter
Roderick |
The noise and constant
light generated by flaring is intolerable,
while the emission of gases causes major
health and environmental problems such as
respiratory disease and acid
rain
.
waste
Globally, gas flaring is an important
contributor to
climate
change
. Gas is flared - or burnt -
off when it is found in association with oil.
This 'associated gas' is often seen as a
waste product because the company drilled for
oil, not gas.
The World Bank estimates that flaring in
Africa could produce 200 Terawatt hours (TWh)
of electricity, about 50% of the current
power consumption of the African
continent.
However, according to Dr. Okopido, the
Nigerian Minister of Environment, about 68%
of the associated gas production of the Niger
Delta is flared into the atmosphere. This
flaring accounts for 19% of the total amount
of gas flared globally.
no information
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Our recommendation
The project should not be supported
without a clear program for flares
reduction and a commitment that all
additional gas brought on-line through
the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline for
transport through WAGP will be
associated gas.
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Despite assertions in the
World Bank Project
Information Document for WAGP
that the
project will contribute to environmental
improvements both upstream and downstream of
the pipeline, neither the private sponsors of
the project nor its potential financiers have
disclosed sufficient concrete information
about where the gas for WAGP will come from
and how much gas flaring will be reduced.
WAGPco has not provided concrete
information regarding
-
the specific sources of the gas in the
western Niger Delta to be transported
through the WAGP,
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how WAGP's acquisition of the gas
stocks will quantitatively affect gas
flaring in the concerned oil-fields,
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and what environmental and social
impacts this gas usage might have in the
oil-field areas.
The WAGP will be connected to the
Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline, which was built
in the 1980s to transport unflared
non-associated gas.
Read more about:
* Oil and Gas Conflicts in the
Western Delta
* End use
* Environmental Impacts
* Public consultation
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