Oil companies violate Nigerian laws, flare gas, face no sanctions (1)

For many years, the orange glow from gasoline flares has lit up the skies of Umuechem in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State lengthy after sundown.

For 65-year-old Rose Ordu, the flames are greater than a everlasting function of the panorama; they’ve develop into a part of her each day battle.

Standing on her cassava and vegetable farm in April, Ms Ordu pointed to crops she mentioned no longer develop as they as soon as did. Her farmland, positioned a couple of hundred metres from an oil facility operated by Heirs Energies beneath Oil Mining Lease (OML) 17, has supported her household for years. She says harvests have steadily declined.

“When I plant vegetables, they don’t grow well because of the heat from the flare. They wither quickly. Even when I apply fertiliser, they are still unhealthy.”

 

She questioned why the gasoline continues to burn whereas the group stays with out electrical energy for over three years. “They should convert it to electricity instead of wasting it,” she mentioned.

A PREMIUM TIMES evaluation of Google Earth imagery confirmed the closest residential constructing to be 328 metres from the flare facility.

Ms Ordu’s expertise mirrors complaints heard in lots of oil-producing communities, the place residents say gasoline flaring has develop into a everlasting function of life regardless of repeated authorities guarantees to finish the follow.

The legislation that promised reform

Gas flaring has lengthy symbolised the environmental price of oil manufacturing in Nigeria. Besides losing beneficial pure gasoline, the follow releases carbon dioxide, methane and different pollution that contribute to local weather change.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), signed into legislation in August 2021, was anticipated to mark a turning level.

Section 108 of the Act required companies producing pure gasoline inside 12 months of the legislation’s efficient date to submit Flare Elimination and Monetisation Plans (FEMP), outlining how they might finish flaring and commercialise gasoline.

In 2023, the regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), strengthened these obligations by means of the Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations.

The rules require operators to organize methane emissions inventories, hold each day data of gasoline flaring and venting, implement Leak Detection and Repair programmes, report fugitive methane emissions and signal binding Milestone Development Agreements with the regulator.

Taken collectively, the Act and the rules created what gave the impression to be one of many continent’s most formidable authorized frameworks for decreasing gasoline flaring and methane emissions.

However, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation discovered that whereas the authorized framework imposes detailed compliance obligations on oil and gasoline producers, the enforcement stays weak.

Gas flaring and methane emissions proceed in lots of oil-producing communities with little proof that the promised reforms have translated into significant environmental safety.

What PREMIUM TIMES discovered

Over three months, PREMIUM TIMES visited oil-producing communities in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states the place residents reside near amenities operated by Heirs Energies, Aradel Holdings, Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) and Frontier Oil.

This newspaper analysed gas-flaring knowledge printed by the NUPRC, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). It additionally reviewed the PIA and its implementing rules, examined sustainability reviews and methane disclosures, and despatched detailed media enquiries to the companies and the regulator.

The investigation discovered that Nigeria’s authorized framework for ending routine gasoline flaring has, to a higher extent, remained unenforced.

Although operators are legally required to remove flaring and implement methane-reduction measures, flare volumes rose at a number of oil property after the rules took impact.

Some companies didn’t disclose key environmental data requested by PREMIUM TIMES, together with their FEMP, methane inventories and implementation milestones. One operator admitted it had not complied with two main regulatory necessities, but confronted no recognized sanction.

For many host communities, the promise of reform exists solely on paper.

Communities nonetheless ready

About 25 kilometres from Umuechem, one other flare stack burns day and evening in Mbodo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers, the place Heirs Energies additionally operates inside OML 17.

Residents say extended publicity has develop into a part of each day life. “The impact is obvious on our roofing sheets,” mentioned Emechukwu Handsome, secretary of the Mbodo Group Host Communities Development Trust. “Because of our closeness to the flare site, our roofs deteriorate faster.”

He additionally recalled a medical outreach organised by Heirs Energies that produced an surprising end result.

“We set aside one day for eye examinations because we thought only a few people would come. The turnout was more than three times what we expected, and many people could not be attended to,” he mentioned.

At the group’s main well being centre, well being employees instructed PREMIUM TIMES that itchy eyes, chest ache, pores and skin rashes and malaria are among the many recurring complaints they obtain. They didn’t instantly attribute the diseases to gasoline flaring.

Yet, a rising physique of scientific proof lends weight to the considerations repeatedly raised by host communities.

A study printed by the National Library of Medicine recognized eye irritation and chest ache among the many most steadily reported well being situations in communities uncovered to gasoline flaring within the Niger Delta. Another study printed within the West African Journal of Medicine discovered considerably greater charges of chest ache, respiratory difficulties, pores and skin irritation and eye irritation amongst individuals dwelling near flare websites than these residing farther away.

While the research don’t conclude that each sickness reported by residents is prompted solely by gasoline flaring, they strengthen scientific concern that extended publicity to emissions from flare websites poses substantial public well being dangers, notably the place communities are positioned near lively flare stacks.

Climate pledges, rising emissions

Heirs Energies says on its website that it’s decreasing greenhouse gasoline emissions by means of gasoline commercialisation, off-gas utilisation and the gradual elimination of routine gasoline flaring in keeping with Nigeria’s local weather goals.

Government knowledge reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES tells a special story.

An evaluation of NEITI’s 2022 Oil and Gas Industry Report and the NUPRC’s 2023 and 2024 Annual Financial and Operational Performance Reports exhibits that gasoline flaring from OML 17 elevated in every of the 2 years following 2022.

The sharpest improve occurred in 2024, when flare volumes rose by 140.3 per cent in contrast with 2023, regardless of the regulatory requirement for operators to implement flare-elimination measures.

The firm’s place amongst Nigeria’s highest flaring operators additionally worsened. In 2023, Heirs Energies ranked sixteenth out of 45 reporting companies. By 2024, it ranked ninth amongst 46 operators.

 

Methane emissions current an equally troubling image.

According to NEITI’s newest printed methane inventory, protecting 2023, Heirs Energies reported 217.36 million kilogrammes of methane emissions, the second-highest quantity recorded by any reporting operator within the nation. Only Mobil Producing Nigeria, which operates 4 producing oil mining leases, reported the next determine. Heirs Energies operates a single producing asset.

On 22 June, PREMIUM TIMES despatched an in depth media enquiry to the corporate’s Assistant Vice President for External and Government Relations, Chidimma Ugbojiaku, requesting its flare knowledge, methane stock, Flare Elimination and Monetisation Plan, Milestone Development Agreement with the NUPRC and particulars of its environmental compliance between 2021 and May 2026.

After receiving no response, this newspaper despatched a reminder on 26 July. Four days later, Ms Ugbojiaku acknowledged the enquiry and mentioned the corporate would reply. As of the time of submitting this report, no response had been obtained.

Law with clear obligations

The Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations, 2023 impose a few of Nigeria’s most stringent environmental obligations on oil and gasoline producers.

Every producer of pure gasoline is required to submit FEMP to the NUPRC, detailing how gasoline flaring will likely be phased out, related gasoline commercialised and greenhouse gasoline emissions lowered.

The rules additionally require operators to execute a Milestone Development Agreement with the Commission, preserve each day data of gasoline flared and vented, submit month-to-month reviews inside 21 days after the tip of every month, set up methane-monitoring methods and implement Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programmes to detect and repair methane leaks.

The goal was to maneuver Nigeria past accumulating flare penalties to driving operators to finish routine gasoline flaring.

But authorities knowledge analysed by PREMIUM TIMES exhibits that the regulatory ambition has not translated into measurable reductions at a number of producing property. In many host communities, flare stacks proceed to burn whereas operators publicly promote their environmental credentials.

Invisible risk

Unlike the flames that dominate the horizon, methane can’t be seen by the bare eye. It typically escapes by means of leaking valves, ageing pipelines, defective compressors, and inefficient gasoline flaring and venting, which is the discharge of gasoline into the environment with out burning. Although flaring converts a lot of the gasoline into carbon dioxide, incomplete combustion permits methane to flee into the environment.

Ndifreke Ekpo, a lecturer in environmental toxicology on the University of Uyo, instructed PREMIUM TIMES that methane emissions pose a critical problem resulting from their efficiency.

“It is a very powerful greenhouse gas and also contributes to atmospheric chemical reactions that open holes in the ozone layer,” he mentioned.

Although emissions could originate from particular person oil-producing communities, Mr Ekpo mentioned their impression extends far past native boundaries.

“The atmosphere is constantly moving. Greenhouse gases released in one location eventually become part of the global atmosphere.”

Scientists estimate that over 20 years, methane traps greater than 80 occasions as a lot warmth as carbon dioxide, making it one of the vital vital drivers of near-term world warming.

Aradel: Sustainability claims meet questions on the bottom

Hours from Port Harcourt, two flare stacks burn constantly over Ogbele group in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, the place Aradel Holdings operates Oil Mining Lease (OML) 54. Here, Aradel produces oil and gasoline and runs a refinery.

According to Aradel’s 2025 annual report, the “Ogbele field asset has sustained over 20 years of continuous production and remains the cornerstone of the company’s production base.”

The report states that the refinery inside the asset has grown right into a three-train facility with a capability of 11,000 barrels of oil per day.

Residents who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES mentioned the flares are accountable for persistent warmth, pores and skin irritation and respiratory difficulties they expertise.

Government data present Aradel shouldn’t be amongst Nigeria’s largest gas-flaring operators. However, an evaluation of NUPRC annual reviews signifies that the amount of gasoline flared from OML 54 elevated in every of the years following the introduction of the Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations, 2023.

The firm’s methane disclosures increase concern.

NEITI’s oil and gasoline reviews reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES present Aradel reported precisely 133.52 million kilogrammes of methane emissions in each 2022 and 2023, an an identical determine in successive years.

The newspaper requested a proof for the an identical methane values; copies of the corporate’s FEMP; proof of regulatory approval; its Milestone Development Agreement with the NUPRC; particulars of methane-reduction tasks; Leak Detection and Repair programmes; environmental monitoring reviews; and month-to-month gas-flaring logs submitted to the regulator since January 2024.

Aradel had but to supply a written response to the PREMIUM TIMES request as of the time of submitting this report.

On 7 August, Aradel initiated a digital assembly with a PREMIUM TIMES reporter. The assembly included the corporate’s Media and Public Relations Lead, Victoria Humphrey, the corporate’s Communication Strategist, Edafe Onoriode, and the General Manager, Sub-Saharan Opportunities, Tunde Odeyemi.

Mr Odeyemi mentioned the corporate doesn’t have a FEMP as a result of the corporate had ended routine flaring since 2012. When PREMIUM TIMES insisted that it had seen gasoline burning day and evening from the corporate’s two flare stacks inside its Ogbele discipline, Mr Odeyemi mentioned it was solely a “technical flare that happens anywhere in the world”.

When PREMIUM TIMES referenced Aradel’s 2025 annual report, the place it dedicated to eliminating routine flaring by 2026/2027, and requested the part of the Prevention of Waste and Pollution regulation that exempted some companies from submitting FEMP, the corporate ended the assembly with a promise to furnish PREMIUM TIMES with an in depth response to the enquiry in writing earlier than the tip of the day.

However, regardless of a number of reminders, Aradel has but to reply to the enquiry.

The absence of a substantive response contrasts with Aradel’s public sustainability commitments.

In its 2024 Sustainability Report, the corporate mentioned it had maintained management in eliminating routine gasoline flaring at Ogbele since 2012. It additionally acknowledged that it was “poised to achieve a significant milestone by eliminating routine gas flaring at our refinery by the fourth quarter of 2025.”

However, when PREMIUM TIMES visited Ogbele in July, gasoline was nonetheless being burnt from the corporate’s two lively flare stacks.

Aradel’s newest annual report seems to replicate a revised timeline. Rather than reporting the elimination of routine flaring, the corporate says it’s investing in gasoline commercialisation tasks anticipated to remove routine flaring throughout all its manufacturing hubs between 2026 and 2027.

Sterling Oil: Climate commitments within the mixture of unanswered questions

About 15 kilometres from Ogbele, one other gasoline flare burns constantly in Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers.

Residents of the close by Egbolom group instructed PREMIUM TIMES the warmth turns into extra intense after sundown.

“The nights are the worst,” one resident mentioned. “You struggle to sleep because of the heat.” Others complained of recurring pores and skin irritation and discomfort, particularly throughout the dry season.

The facility inflicting the flare is operated by Sterling Oil, certainly one of Nigeria’s largest upstream oil producers.

Assessing the corporate’s flaring efficiency, nonetheless, proved troublesome.

Unlike some operators, publicly out there authorities reviews don’t disaggregate Sterling Oil’s gas-flaring volumes by particular person asset, limiting impartial checks.

To tackle that hole, PREMIUM TIMES analysed knowledge from the NOSDRA Gas Flare Tracker, which makes use of satellite tv for pc observations to detect lively flare websites by means of radiant warmth signatures.

Although the platform doesn’t estimate flare volumes with the precision of manufacturing data, it offers an impartial indicator of flare exercise over time.

The evaluation discovered no proof that flaring declined after 2024, the interval throughout which operators had been anticipated to start implementing permitted FEMP.

An analogous development emerged about 200 kilometres away in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, the place Sterling Oil operates the Utapate discipline.

Commercial manufacturing on the discipline started in 2024, but satellite tv for pc knowledge reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES signifies that flare exercise elevated sharply.

Gas flared within the space rose from 4.9 million normal cubic toes (MSCF) in 2024 to eight million MSCF in 2025. By the tip of May 2026, 7.2 million MSCF had already been flared, suggesting the annual determine may surpass the earlier yr’s complete if the development continued.

The improve occurred regardless of rules requiring operators to progressively remove routine gasoline flaring.

Corporate pledges, restricted transparency, and a disturbing environmental document

PREMIUM TIMES sought Sterling Oil’s response to those findings.

On 21 June, the newspaper despatched to the corporate a media enquiry requesting its greenhouse gasoline emissions knowledge, methane inventories, Flare Elimination and Monetisation Plan, proof of regulatory approval, Milestone Development Agreement and data on measures taken to scale back emissions and monitor environmental impacts in host communities.

After receiving no response, PREMIUM TIMES despatched a reminder on 26 July and made repeated makes an attempt to acquire feedback by means of the corporate’s media consultant in Akwa Ibom, Aniekeme Finbarr.

No response has been obtained as of the time of this report. The silence contrasts with the corporate’s public sustainability commitments.

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On its web site, Sterling Oil says it’s dedicated to minimising the environmental impression of its operations by means of accountable vitality use, emissions discount, and higher reliance on low-carbon vitality sources.

However, with out entry to the corporate’s emissions knowledge and regulatory compliance data, these commitments can’t be independently assessed.

The lack of transparency is especially vital given Sterling Oil’s current environmental document.

In June 2025, certainly one of its host communities filed a lawsuit in opposition to the corporate over alleged environmental degradation from vented gasoline emissions and different air pollution.

Earlier in April that yr, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Akwa Ibom State Government issued an ultimatum to the corporate over alleged illegal land encroachment and blockage of waterways.

Earlier this yr, PREMIUM TIMES reported that residents dwelling close to one of many firm’s flare websites complained of intense warmth and air pollution, with some households abandoning their houses. Media reviews additionally documented considerations by civil society organisations about extended oil spills in host communities.

Questions have additionally been raised in regards to the firm’s implementation of the PIA.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that though the legislation required operators to ascertain useful Host Community Development Trusts inside a yr of the Act coming into drive in 2021, Sterling Oil solely unveiled a complete wants evaluation for its Akwa Ibom host communities in June 2026.

To environmental advocates, the delayed evaluation and the corporate’s restricted public disclosure on environmental compliance reinforce considerations about transparency and regulatory accountability.

Among the 4 companies investigated, solely Frontier Oil, operated by Savannah Energy, supplied a substantive response.

‘Silence fuels climate denial’

Environmental advocates say the refusal of Heirs Energies, Aradel and Sterling Oil to reveal info on methane emissions and compliance with anti-gas flaring rules undermines public accountability.

The coordinator of the Peace Point Development Foundation, Umo Isuaikoh, mentioned the companies’ silence was inconsistent with the transparency anticipated of companies working in communities affected by oil air pollution.

“Methane emissions and gas flaring are matters of public interest. Companies extracting public resources have a duty to disclose the environmental impact of their operations and what they are doing to reduce it,” he mentioned.

Mr Isuaikoh mentioned withholding emissions and compliance data makes it troublesome for communities, regulators and buyers to independently assess whether or not operators are assembly their authorized obligations.

According to him, the shortage of disclosure reinforces “a culture of climate denial.”

“Climate denial is not only about rejecting climate science. It also includes withholding information that enables the public to understand pollution and hold polluters accountable.”

Frontier Oil opens its books

Unlike the opposite companies investigated, Frontier Oil Limited supplied an in depth response to PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiries.

The response provided a uncommon perception into how one operator manages gasoline flaring and methane emissions. It additionally uncovered gaps in regulatory enforcement.

Frontier Oil operates the Uquo discipline in Akwa Ibom State, the place gasoline is flared in Edo and Uqua Isidoho communities in Esit Eket Local Government Area.

Residents mentioned the flare has affected farming. Friday Edoho, whose farm is positioned close to the ability, mentioned extreme warmth has lowered cassava yields, worsening the financial hardship his household faces.

Conflicting flare knowledge

Frontier Oil instructed PREMIUM TIMES its gasoline flaring declined steadily between 2021 and 2024, however authorities data current a special image.

An evaluation of NEITI oil and gasoline reviews, along with NUPRC operational reviews, exhibits that flare volumes fell in 2023 however rose in 2024 by 59.4 per cent in comparison with the earlier yr, when operators had been anticipated to be implementing flare-reduction measures.

The firm’s methane emissions adopted a special development. Reported emissions peaked at 40.95 million kilogrammes in 2022 earlier than declining in subsequent years.

Frontier Oil attributed the spike in flare volumes to unusually excessive related gasoline manufacturing from a brand new oil properly, which exceeded the processing capability of its compressors and resulted in elevated flaring. The firm mentioned compressor upgrades, decrease manufacturing, and improved upkeep subsequently lowered emissions.

Startling admission

Frontier Oil additionally acknowledged that it didn’t submit fugitive methane emission reviews required beneath the Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions Regulations between 2021 and May 2026. According to the corporate, regardless of the non-compliance, the NUPRC neither issued a discover of violation nor imposed any sanction.

The rules required operators to submit a Flare Elimination and Monetisation Plan inside six months of the rules being signed in May 2023.

Frontier Oil mentioned it submitted its plan in 2025, about two years after the deadline, and that it has but to obtain approval from the NUPRC. As a consequence, the corporate mentioned it has not executed the obligatory Milestone Development Agreement.

It additionally instructed PREMIUM TIMES it obtained no penalty or regulatory directive over the late submission or its failure to file fugitive methane emission reviews.

Bigger accountability query

Across Umuechem, Mbodo, Ogbele, Abua/Odual, Eastern Obolo and Esit Eket, residents described comparable considerations, together with extreme warmth, declining farm yields and suspected well being results linked to gasoline flaring.

Government knowledge reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES additionally exhibits that flare volumes elevated at a number of producing property throughout the interval operators had been anticipated to scale back routine flaring.

Three companies, Heirs Energies, Aradel Holdings and Sterling Oil, failed to supply key environmental data requested by this newspaper. Frontier Oil responded, however its disclosures revealed some obvious regulatory non-compliance that attracted no recognized enforcement motion.

Overall, the findings on this story level to a query larger than the conduct of particular person oil companies. If operators can miss statutory deadlines, fail to submit obligatory environmental reviews, and proceed to extend gasoline flaring with none recognized regulatory penalties, the place has Nigeria’s enforcement system failed?

Part Two of this investigation examines the function of the NUPRC and the federal authorities, uncovering how regulatory delays, weak oversight and poor enforcement have undermined certainly one of Nigeria’s most formidable environmental legal guidelines.

This story is supported by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).