Comparative Study on Gas Utilization Patterns among Marginal Field Operators and International Oil Companies (IOCS) in Nigeria

Abstract Natural gas is an essential choice of primary energy due to its comparative advantages, such as higher energy efficiency and lower harmful gas emissions when burnt. Consequently, its production and utilization are imperative for sustainable energy and environmental sustainability. In Nigeria, IOCs and marginal field operators play a pivotal role in ensuring the availability of natural gas to end users. However, studies on the gas utilization patterns of these key players are relatively scarce in the published literature. Hence, this study investigated the gas utilization patterns of Nigeria's marginal field operators and international oil companies (IOCS). The Cochran model was used to obtain a minimum representative number of data with a 4% margin of error and a 99% confidence limit. Gas utilization data, including unaccounted-for gas, sales gas, flared gas, re-injected gas, and fuel gas, were obtained from the published data of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) from 2012 to 2021 (10 years) and used for the analysis. The results of the study showed that both IOCs and marginal operators prioritized gas sales as about half (46 % marginal field operators and 48% IOCs) of their cumulative gas produced was sold to end users. IOCs also prioritized gas reinjection (28%) compared to marginal field operators (3%). In addition, marginal field operators flared 32% of their entire gas produced compared to 7% for the IOCs. Furthermore, the results suggest that within ten years, from 2012 to 2021, Nigeria lost a conservative total of US$ 16.52 billion. US$ 6.69 billion from flared gas and US$ 9.83 billion from unaccounted-for gas. Therefore, more attention should be paid to unaccounted gas, as with flared gas.