Adibe Emenyonu
25 August 2008
Benin — The Federal Government has blamed multinational oil companies for the delay in the termination of the flaring of gas in the country. It said the companies opted to pay the fine imposed as penalty for the continuing flaring of gas in the country instead of taking the steps to stop it.
Minister of State for Energy [Gas], Hon. Emmanuel Odusina, stated this in Benin weekend, while speaking with newsmen after he inspected a multi million naira Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plant being embarked upon by an indigenous firm, NIPCO Plc in strategic places in Benin, the state capital.
He said if the oil companies had been taking the necessary steps needed to ensure the ending of gas flaring five years ago, the raging issue would have ended by now.
The minister further diclosed that the Federal Government is still undecided on when gas flaring would come to a stop in the country in line with current international moves to curb pollution and damage to the ozone layer.
According to him, key projects that could help in stopping gas flaring in the country were yet to be completed, noting that $1 billion had been earmarked for the execution of such projects that would pave the way for a realistic date when gas flaring would be stopped in Nigeria.
The minister stated that it was not possible to embark on an immediate stoppage of gas flaring in the country because it was capital intensive and required certain preparations and things to be put in place to actualize such a desire".
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
