Commercializing flared gas for the Nigerian market through small-scale liquefaction

T. Kuru and E. Iyagba, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Natural gas is an underutilized energy and chemical resource in Nigeria, despite the country having 187 Tcf of proven reserves. While Nigeria produces 3.5 Bcfy of associated gas, approximately 2.5 Bcfy is flared. Nigeria may be losing over $2 B/yr from flaring associated gas.1 Data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that Nigeria is the world’s second-largest gas flaring nation, after Russia.2 However, per liter of oil produced, Nigeria exceeds Russia in gas flaring.3 In Nigeria, companies exploring for crude oil have failed to develop adequate infrastructure to process and market associ