Predication of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Gas Flaring Activities in the Niger-Delta Area of Nigeria

Abstract

Because of crude-oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria as a Country flares about 17.2 billion m3 of natural gas per capita year. An assessment of the historical data on the gas flared between 1965 to 2019 in the Oil-rich Niger-Delta region of Nigeria was carried out. A linear regression model was used to estimate the cumulative volume of gas flared up till the year 2030 using R. The findings show the total CH₄ and N₂O emission between 1965 to 1974 was 2281324 and 1229722 respectively. There was a steady increase in the estimated CH₄ and N₂O emissions until 2004. The prediction of cumulative gas flared showed an exponential increase in the cumulative greenhouse gases flared to about 8.8 x 10⁹ metric tons by the year 2030. Overall, the study revealed a striking cause for concern due to the predicted continuous increasing amount of gas flaring and release of greenhouse gas emissions which could have significant effects on the environment.