Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme and Professional Implementation Challenges in Nigeria

This study investigates the professional and operational challenges encountered in implementing the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), which was designed to convert routine gas flaring into commercially viable gas supply projects at the wellhead. The NGFCP was launched by the Nigerian government in 2016, but progress has been hampered by delayed bid rounds, legal disputes, and financing obstacles. Using a professional practitioner study design, the research conducts structured interviews with twelve NGFCP bid process consultants, four NUPRC technical officers, and six independent gas aggregators. Programme implementation documentation, bid round outcome reports, and commercial term templates are reviewed as secondary data from 2020 to 2024. Findings indicate that key professional bottlenecks include misalignment between gas producers and aggregators on pricing, unclear legal status of flare gas agreements, and insufficient technical support for small gas commercialisation projects. The study recommends a model flare gas purchase agreement template endorsed by NUPRC and a professionalised NGFCP implementation support unit. Keywords: gas flare commercialisation, NGFCP, Nigeria, petroleum policy, flaring.