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Senate Okays New Law, Dec 2010 Deadline For Gas FlaringBy Adetutu Folasade-Koyi Assistant Editor, AbujaSenators unanimously on Thursday approved a new law that would prohibit gas flaring and punish oil companies that flout it in Nigeria. They reaffirmed the December 31, 2010 deadline to stop the practice. The Gas Flaring (Prohibition and Punishment) Bill 2009 passed through the Third Reading in the chamber with approval of all its 18 clauses. Leading debate at the resumed consideration of the new law, Osita Izunaso, who is also the sponsor of the bill, noted that Nigeria was losing N2.5 billion to gas flaring. "Gas flaring has adverse effect on the health of our people. Today, it is being estimated that Nigeria flares up 2.5 billion cubic feet, and the effect of this gas flaring can best be imagined than experienced. "Our environment is increasingly becoming a time bomb due to gas flaring. "We need to curb the menace of gas flaring because of the lack of implementation of the various deadlines fixed by government for companies to stop the flaring of gas." Izunaso recalled that Senate resolved to shift gas flaring from the initial deadline of December 31, 2008. He also added that the bill would stipulate stiffer penalties for defaulters that include a shut down order to be given by the Minister of Energy (Petroleum) as against the former fine of $4 per cubic feet of gas flared. Section one of the new law provides that "natural gas shall not be flared in any oil and gas production, operation, block or field onshore or off shore or gas facility (processing treatment plant etc) which shall commence operations after the commencement of this Act." Section two specifically stipulates that no company engaged in the production of oil and gas shall after December 2010 flare natural gas produced whether in association with oil or not. The bill further stipulates strict adherence to gas laws by requiring operators in the oil sector to categorise all the flared gas resources, such as daily quantity flared, reserve, location and composition within 90 days. It also requires the companies to submit data along with gas utilisation plans to the minister for the gas they intend to utilise prior to the December 2010 flare-out deadline for his approval.
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