The Health, Economic and Environmental Effect of Flaring and Venting Activities of

Exploration and Production Companies on the Communities.

In the oil and Gas Companys exploration and production are important processes.Some
of the activities involved with this processes are flaring and venting, they are air emissions and
from definition, venting can be said to be the control release of natural gas from production
facilities without burning while flaring is the control burning of natural gas in a production
facility to prevent explosion or accident and in event of emergency or during the process of shut
down.
They are both safety measures used in an oil and gas facility to ensure Gas( associated
gases that are brought to the surface with crude oil during oil production) and other hydrocarbon
are safely disposed of in the event of an emergency , power or equipment failure, or other plant
upset conditions. As flaring and venting has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages (effects)
.these effects could be on health, the economy and in the environment.
The air pollution associated with gas flaring and venting poses a significant health risk for
local communities and for people who work in these oil fields. Although most high-flaring oil
fields are in remote locations, they often attract communities of migrant laborers and their
families. Flaring in oil and gas industry releases harmful gases which are capable of causing
green house effects, such gases include nitrogen oxides (NO), sulphur oxides (SO2 ) ,carbon
monoxide(CO) as well as carbon dioxide (which is a major green house gas).
Some gases such as Benzene could be carcinogenesis thus increasing the risk of cancer
infection on the individuals around. Also radiations could also mutate genes, nitrogen oxide in
water are known to cause the blue baby syndrome in new born babies and also its combustion, is
a harmful pollutant causing direct injuries to the respiratory organs. Research has shown that
most residents in nearby communities have experienced chronic health problems including
bronical, chest, rheumatic and eye complaints.
Flaring emits a mixture of particulate matter (smoke) combustion by-products (carbon
dioxide sulphur dioxides and others) ,dioxin other toxins as well as unburned fuel
component(benezene,toluene,xylene,hydrogen,sulphide). Flaring can also cause acid rain
locally that damages crops (as well as roofing materials); this has negative effects on health and
livelihood. However this depends on how many times how exposed the person is to the gas.
Economically, gas flaring is a great waste of energy resource that causes economic
loss due to poor management of investments opportunities to the petroleum sector and wastes of
potential contribution to gross national income of the nation. Similarly economic impacts of
flaring and venting are significant in terms of loss of revenues from gas not used. In Nigeria
alone, a joint UNDP-World Bank report estimated in 2004 that the annual economic loss to
Nigeria from flaring and venting (based on LNG values) was approximately US$2.5 billion.

This activity is now widely recognized to be a waste of valuable resources, as well as significant
source of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
From the previous experiences we are made to know that before flaring and venting
is adopted, feasible alternatives for the use of the gas should be evaluated to the maximum extent
possible and integrated into production design.
Around the globe, some 140billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas are flared and
vented each year, equivalent to approximately 30% of European Unions annual gas
consumption. This is a global impact on climate change producing about 400million tons of
green house gas emission annually.
Venting releases methane into the atmosphere; as climate change gas methane is 21
times more damaging than carbon dioxde, this is known to cause global warming in the
environment. Flaring is a more environmentally attractive option than venting, neighbors of
onshore oil and gas developments sometimes prefer venting, because it is less visible and
produces less noise in the environment.
In conclusion, flaring and venting in the petroleum industry has clearly
impacted on the natural environment, on health and also on the economy. Therefore, effective
understanding of the overall impact of the exploration and production of the petroleum
hydrocarbon resources in the in the petroleum industry is important for the effective management
of the energy resources, environmental risk mitigation.

REFERENCES
Dialogue and development with the oil gas industries. [Online].Available: http://oil and
gas. Living earth.org.uk/
Flaring and venting in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. [Online].
Availabie:WWW.ogp.org.uk
F.Winter,et al., No and N20 Formation During the Combination of Wood, Straw,Malt
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