Methane Mitigation and Reduction in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Sector

This research paper examines Nigeria's strategies and policy frameworks for reducing methane emissions within its oil and gas sector. It details the country's alignment with international pledges, such as the Global Methane Pledge, and evaluates the effectiveness of national tools and regulations in curbing gas flaring and fugitive emissions.

• Nigeria's oil and gas sector experienced 439.8 kilotonnes of methane emissions in 2010, with gas production, processing, and distribution accounting for 73% of these emissions. Projections suggest emissions will rise to 481.2 kilotonnes by 2030 (a 9% increase) and peak at 598.5 kilotonnes by 2050 (a 36% increase).
• Methane emissions from Nigeria's oil and gas sector have increased steadily, reaching 152.95 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2020, which represents approximately 41% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. This trend is attributed to pipeline leaks, infrastructure failures, and the venting and flaring of natural gas.
• Nigeria has achieved a reduction in natural gas flaring of approximately 70% since 2000. However, as of 2020, the country remained among the top 10 global gas flarers, wasting roughly 7.2 billion cubic meters of gas.
• The Nigerian government has set several ambitious methane reduction targets: a 45% reduction by 2025 and 60-75% by 2030 through the Global Methane Alliance, and a 60% reduction in fugitive methane emissions by 2031 as part of its updated 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
• To improve monitoring and verification, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) launched the Nigerian Gas Flare Tracker (NGFT) in 2018 and is currently developing a Satellite-based Methane Emission Tracker (SMET) prototype.
• Despite policy alignment with international goals, Nigeria faces significant barriers to methane mitigation, including technical limitations (lack of leak detection infrastructure and inadequate emission data), economic challenges (high technology costs and lack of financial incentives), and weak regulatory enforcement.

APA

Mahmoud, M. I. (2024). Methane Mitigation and Reduction in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Sector. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/methane-mitigation-and-reduction-in-nigerias-oil-and-gas-sector

Chicago

Mahmoud, Mahmoud Ibrahim. Methane Mitigation and Reduction in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Sector. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/methane-mitigation-and-reduction-in-nigerias-oil-and-gas-sector.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mahmoud |first1=Mahmoud Ibrahim |title=Methane Mitigation and Reduction in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Sector |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=20 March 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/methane-mitigation-and-reduction-in-nigerias-oil-and-gas-sector |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mahmoud2024methane, author = {Mahmoud, Mahmoud Ibrahim}, title = {{Methane Mitigation and Reduction in Nigeria's Oil and Gas Sector}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://afripoli.org/methane-mitigation-and-reduction-in-nigerias-oil-and-gas-sector}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }