The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, on Monday disclosed that the Federal Government will from 2019 commence the revocation of the licences of oil companies that fail to stop gas flaring in their operations in the country.
He made the disclosure while speaking at the 2018 Buyers’ Forum/Stakeholders’ Engagement organised by the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) in Abuja.
He told the gathering that the Federal Government had been locked in a battle with upstream oil companies over the issue of gas flaring noting that the Federal Government was determined to end gas flaring, but oil companies still find reasons why gas flaring cannot be ended.
“Government wants to end flare, oil companies still give lot of reasons why flare cannot be ended.
“Bottom line is cash call and money. But the reality is that whether or not we deal with cash call issues, it is not an optional agenda, it is a compulsive immediate agenda.
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“It is destructive to the populace; it is intolerable in developed country and it should not be tolerated here either,’’ Kachikwu said
He noted further that any oil company that could not find a way to ending its flare ought not to be producing.
“And I have said to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), beginning from next year, we are going to get quite frantic about this and companies that cannot meet with extended periods — the issue is not how much you pay in terms of fines for gas flaring, the issue is that you would not produce.
“We need to begin to look at foreclosing of licences. This is very urgent.” he added
The Minister stressed that the quest to discourage gas flaring led the Federal Government to initiate the gas flare commercialisation programme.
