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

Abstract

The study examines the relationship between total gas produced, utilized and flared, also the social cost, economic cost and the public health consequences resulting from gas flaring in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The environmental and economic impacts caused by gas flaring activities in this part of the world between 1999 and 2015 were analyzed to establish the relationship gas flaring has with lost economic opportunities, ecological damage and human health challenges. The study examined and discussed the gas flaring cost, the volume of gas produced, public health cost, the cost of pollution abatement technology, social cost-benefit, the regulatory policies, and the reason why oil companies still flare gases. There is no single empirical approach, estimation technique or emission index to quantify the exact impact of gas flaring. The impact of gas flaring on the Niger Delta region is not an assumption but a reality that is supported by verifiable evidence. We find that gas flaring has a devastating impact on human health and the natural ecology. Available cost-effective technological solutions can be deployed by the oil companies to abate the flaring, expand revenue and improve the environmental quality in the Niger Delta area.