Nigeria recorded a 12 percent increase in gas flaring volume in 2024, marking the second-largest rise globally.
This is according to the latest World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report.
“Nigeria experienced a 12 percent increase in flaring volume in 2024, the second largest increase globally. With oil production rising by just 3 percent, flaring intensity increased by 8 percent. This marks the second consecutive year of rising flare levels in Nigeria,” the World Bank stated.
According to the World Bank, flaring at oil and gas facilities operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and several smaller companies, likely with limited expertise or funding for gas utilization, accounted for 60 percent of Nigeria’s gas flaring and 75 percent of the increase in 2024.
The report names Iran as the country with the highest flaring increase in 2024.
“The largest increases in flare volumes in 2024 occurred in Iran, Nigeria, the United States, Iraq, and Russia (in order of the flare volume increase). Together, these five countries accounted for 4.6 bcm of the additional gas flaring. In addition to increases in flare volume, Nigeria, Russia, and the United States also increased their flaring intensity in 2024,” the World Bank stated.
The report further reveals that Russia remains the world’s largest gas flaring country, with flaring volumes rising by 2 percent in 2024.
Global flaring at upstream oil and gas facilities increased from 148 bcm in 2023 to 151 bcm in 2024
The World Bank has reported that global gas flaring at upstream oil and gas facilities rose by 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024, increasing from 148 bcm in 2023 to 151 bcm — a 2 percent uptick.
“At the same time, oil production remained unchanged, leading to a 2.3 percent increase in global average flaring intensity, which has stagnated around the same level since 2010,” the report read.
The share of total flaring from the top nine flaring countries – Russia, Iran, Iraq, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Mexico, and Nigeria – increased from 65 percent in 2012 to 76 percent of total flaring in 2024, the World Bank stated.
What you should know
Earlier this month, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reaffirmed its commitment to ending routine gas flaring by 2030 and reducing methane emissions by 60% by 2031 through a gas-centric transition strategy.
- The NUPRC Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe said the agency’s igas-centric transition strategy aims to eliminate routine flaring by 2030, and reduce methane by 60 per cent by 2031.
- According to him, the strategy is driven by Nigeria’s Upstream Decarbonisation Framework, which integrates emissions tracking, measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems, carbon capture technology, and access to climate finance through carbon markets.
- In March 2025, the Commission launched the Decarbonisation and Energy Sustainability Forum, an annual observance for tracking progress, promoting knowledge-sharing, and accelerating climate-aligned development.
The World Bank’s annual Global Gas Flaring Tracker is a tool for monitoring and understanding the state of flaring worldwide and the progress made towards achieving Zero Routine Flaring by 2030.
