Gas flaring starts at the end of colonial rule
Shell and BP started exploring for oil in the Niger Delta in the 1930s. The first field was found in 1956 and the first export was made in 1958. Flaring of gas mixed up with the crude oil began right at the start, and so did a recognition of its unacceptability.
In the run-up to independence in 1960, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Home, was asked to address the flaring, as:
"there might be a wastage of energy and resources going on which, one day, those giving advice to the Nigerians (i.e., the British) could be reproached." [ 3 ]
The official response, citing economics and lack of markets, was complacent:
"Until there is this worthwhile market and until there are facilities (e.g. pipe lines and storage tanks) to use the gas, it is normal practice to burn off this byproduct from the oil wells". [ 4 ]
But the unacceptability of the practice, and the massive profits to be made by Shell and BP under the unsuspecting nose of the Nigerians, were officially recognised by the British. The two extracts in the Box on the right from a confidential note from the British Trade Commissioner in Lagos to the Foreign Office in 1963, are particularly patronising, offensive and illuminating.[ 5 ]
These extracts from official, historical documents show that the British government knew of the practice of gas flaring at the very start of the oil industry in the Delta. They recognised its unacceptability. They understood the significant sums of money that Shell and BP would be making by producing and exporting Delta crude. Yet they did nothing to prevent the waste. And they were completely oblivious to the impact on local communities.
If the British colonial government had taken the attitude that they subsequently took in their own country, the people of the Niger Delta would not have been put on a track that has led to them being exposed to continuous flaring for over four decades.
British double standards
The British government took a quite different attitude towards flaring their own gas when North Sea production started in the 1970s. Their attitude is best expressed in this official note:
"Natural gas has commonly been treated as a waste product by the oil companies. Last year for example over 500 million cubic feet a day was flared in Libyian (sic) oilfields alone - well over 15% of total UK consumption. We have set our face firmly against such waste of a precious resource in the UK Continental Shelf however..." [ 6 ]
A general prohibition to flare UK gas without Ministerial consent was included in section 12 of the Energy Act 1976. Exchanges between the Minister and an MP during passage of the Bill, [ 7 ] in the Box on the right, give an insight to the British approach, which recognises that national and corporate interests do not always coincide, and which might fairly be summarised as 'it goes on abroad, but it's not for us'.
The result of successive British governments' attitude to flaring North Sea gas was that whilst flaring of AG was over 90% at the start of crude oil production, it has decreased over the last 25 years to around 2%, with onshore flaring at between 6-14% since 1991. [ 8 ] As we will see, Nigeria probably flares most of its AG production.
British double standards have proved a fertile breeding ground for the corrupt Nigerian elite to connive with the oil companies to waste this "precious resource" at world record levels. The results of these double standards are still with us today.
[ 3 ] This request was made in a Memorandum of 21st June 1960 given to the Secretary of State by Mr Edmund de Rothschild of the banking family: 'Natural Gas in Nigeria', File DO 35/10500, UK National Archives. A copy of this 1-page memorandum, and associated papers, are available here.
[ 4 ] 'Nigerian Oil and Natural Gas Industry', File DO 177/33, UKJ National Archives. A copy of this short letter is available here. (Note: parts of the document are not very legible.)
[ 5 ] These comments were contained in a confidential "reasonably comprehensive survey of the history, the present position and future prospects of the oil producing industry in Nigeria" provided by Mr. J.S. Sadler, the British Trade Commissioner in Lagos to the Economic Relations Department of the Foreign Office in London on 9th August 1963: 'Development of Oil Resources in West Africa 1963', File 371/167170, UK National Archives. The 26-page extract from the relevant file, including the document, is available here.
[ 6 ] Note to the Minister of State from Mr. C.E.H. Tuck, 19th March 1974: 'Utilisation of gas associated with oil production', File POWE 63/1173, UK National Archives. A copy of this 6-page note, with Annex, is available here.
[ 7 ] Hansard, 13th July 1976, pages 405-416.
[ 8 ] See the Tables provided by the UK Minister in a Parliamentary
Answer, showing annual UK offshore and onshore associated and non-associated gas production, and the percentages
and amounts of gas vented and flared since 1979, Hansard, 10th February 2005, Column 1792W, available here.
Tables showing annual UK oil production, associated gas production, flaring and venting from oil producing
fields, and the ratios of flaring and venting to the oil produced were provided by the Minister in a Parliamentary
Answer on 28th February 2005, available here.
Executive Summary | Introduction | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 | Section 6 | Section 7 | Section 8 | Section 9 | Conclusions