EFFECT OF GAS FLARING INTO THE ECOSYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA

ABSTRACT
The atmosphere is kind. It takes the carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases that humans create and disperses them equally all over the world. But that is also its cruelty. The accumulation of these waste gases over the decades, disproportionately from industrial countries but increasingly from some developing ones, is over-whelming the planet’s energy balance and heating up its surface and affecting human wellbeing. Gas flaring and thermal plants emissions in the Niger Delta region are example of such pollutions, this accumulation must end, but how that would happen is hard to imagine. Ecological economics framework is suggested as a more fruitful approach to socio-economic and environmental problems than the now dominant neoclassical paradigm. The background and theories of Neo-classical and ecological economics is given in this paper, as well as the main characteristics of their approach. Differences between neoclassical and ecological economics are elaborated with respect to the concept of sustainability and economics (reductionist versus holistic), the approach to decision making (aggregated versus highly disaggregated), and the view of social and institutional change.

Background of the study
Nigeria flares more natural gas associated with oil extraction than any other country, with estimates suggesting that of the 3.5 billion cubic feet (100,000,000 m³) of associated gas produced annually, 2.5 billion cubic feet (70,000,000 m³), or about 70%, is wasted by flaring. This equals about 25% of the UK’s total natural gas consumption and is the equivalent to 40% of Africa’s gas consumption in 2001. Statistical data associated with gas flaring are notoriously unreliable, but Nigeria may waste US$2 billion per year by flaring associated gas. Flaring is done as it is costly to separate commercially viable associated gas from the oil. Companies operating in Nigeria also harvest natural gas for commercial purposes but prefer to extract it from deposits where it is found in isolation as non-associated gas. Thus associated gas is burned off to decrease costs. Gas flaring is generally discouraged as it releases toxic components into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. In Western Europe 99% of associated gas is used or re-injected into the ground. Gas flaring in Nigeria began simultaneously with oil extraction in the 1960s by Shell. Alternatives to flaring are gas re-injection or to store it for use as an energy source. If properly stored, the gas could be used for community projects.

Gas flaring releases of large amount of methane, which has a high global warming potential. The methane is accompanied by the other major greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, of which Nigeria was estimated to have emitted more than 34.38 million metric tons in 2002, accounting for about 50% of all industrial emissions in the country and 30% of the total CO2 emissions. While flaring in the west has been minimized, in Nigeria it has grown proportionally with oil production. The international community, the Nigerian government, and the oil corporations seem in agreement that gas flaring needs to be curtailed. Efforts to do so, however, have been limited although flaring has been declared illegal since 1984 under section 3 of the Associated Gas Reinjection Act of Nigeria. While OPEC and Shell, the biggest flares of natural gas in Nigeria, alike claim that only 50% of all associated gas is burnt off via flaring, these data are contested. The World Bank reported in 2004 that, “Nigeria currently flares 75% of the gas it produces. Gas flares have potentially harmful effects on the health and livelihood of nearby communities, as they release poisonous chemicals including nitrogen dioxides, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds like benzene, toluene, xylene and hydrogen sulfide, as well as carcinogens like benzapyrene and dioxins. Humans exposed to such substances can suffer from respiratory problems. These chemicals can aggravate asthma, cause breathing difficulties and pain, as well as chronic bronchitis. Benzene, known to be emitted from gas flares in undocumented quantities, is well recognized as a cause for leukemia and other blood-related diseases.