Germany has unveiled a new programme to help Nigeria tackle the estimated $1.5bn it loses annually to gas flaring by converting the wasted gas into economic value.
The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Günther, disclosed this at the just-concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja, saying the initiative would support Nigeria’s energy transition while reducing emissions and creating new economic opportunities.
She said the project, commissioned by the German Foreign Office, would explore ways to utilise gas currently flared across Nigeria for domestic consumption, industrial use and hydrogen production.
Giving the rationale for the intervention, Günther said Nigeria remained one of the world’s biggest gas-flaring countries.
She said, “So, I think most recently the German Foreign Office commissioned a programme to translate our energy partnership into practice in an area with a new project looking closely into flared gas and how it can be put into economic value. Just for context, 5.3 billion cubic metres of gas flared in 2024 in Nigeria, which makes it the seventh-ranked in the world, and that equals an economic loss of 1.5 billion US dollars.
