By FABIAN EKERUCHE

The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) has called on the Federal Government to impose a total ban on gas flaring, arguing that existing penalties are ineffective in curbing the practice.

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Philip Jakpor, Executive Director, RDI, on Wednesday in Lagos.

Jakpor said oil companies operating in the Niger Delta appear comfortable paying fines rather than investing in measures to stop flaring.

He said RDI’s position follows recent data from the Nigerian Oil Spill Monitor, covering March 2012 to 2025.

He said the data showed that companies paid an estimated $646 million in gas flaring penalties in 2025 — the highest in the last five years.

“According to the data, the all-time high penalty was $934 million in 2018, when gas valued at 1.6 billion dollars was flared.

“Payments declined between 2020 and 2022 but began rising again from 2023.

“The report indicated that flared gas volumes stood at 349.3 million standard cubic feet (SCF) in 2020, dropped to 264.6 million SCF in 2021 and 230.1 million SCF in 2022, before increasing to 278.3 million SCF in 2023 and 301.3 million SCF in 2024,” Jakpor said.

He said the rise In penalty payments should not be seen as revenue gains.

He said it reflects a failure of deterrence, as oil firms prefer paying what he described as minimal fines rather than reducing harmful emissions.

Jakpor noted that the current penalty of two dollars per 1,000 SCF remains too low to compel compliance, despite decades of missed deadlines to end gas flaring since 1984.

He added that the focus on revenue from penalties overlooks the environmental and health costs borne by host communities, including exposure to toxic emissions, acid rain, and declining agricultural productivity.

Jakpor questioned Nigeria’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, stressing that continued flaring undermines climate goals.

He urged the government to prioritise emission reduction at source, insisting that a complete halt to gas flaring is the only sustainable solution. (NAN)

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