In December, a routine field test by Nigeria’s National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency revealed methane levels at an oil site in Bille, a coastal community in Rivers State, at 10,000 times the normal concentration. Amnesty International documented the fallout: residents falling ill, families uprooted, and a community left to cope with the aftermath. This wasn’t an anomaly—it was a snapshot of a systemic failure.
Across the Niger Delta, millions live in the shadow of oil and gas infrastructure that leaks and burns methane into their air and soil. A systematic review of studies from Nigeria’s gas-flaring states found that 43 percent of people in exposed communities suffer from respiratory diseases. A recent documentary by Policy Alert and We The People, backed by the Natural Resource Governance Institute, captured the human toll: mothers tending to children with chronic breathing issues, families draining their savings on clinic visits, and a pervasive sense of abandonment as gas flares and leaks go unchecked.
Methane is often discussed as a climate threat, but its immediate danger is to human health. In enclosed spaces, it can displace oxygen, causing dizziness, breathing problems, or even death. It also fuels ground-level ozone, a pollutant that aggravates lungs and hearts. Gas flaring, meant to convert methane to less harmful carbon dioxide, releases its own cocktail of toxins. The double dividend of tackling methane—protecting both the climate and public health—is clear.
The economic argument is equally compelling. Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa’s largest methane emitter, losing gas that could be captured and sold. The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2023, Nigeria could have earned $350 million from methane abatement while spending just $240 million on the effort. Now, international pressure is mounting. Under the EU Methane Regulation, by January 2027, importers must prove their gas meets strict monitoring and verification standards. Nigeria exported nearly 14 million tonnes of LNG in 2024, with Europe taking a third. With methane intensity roughly double the global average, failing to verify and reduce emissions risks losing access to a key market.
Nigeria has laws on the books. The Petroleum Industry Act 2021, along with regulations passed in 2022 and 2025, outlines methane management. The government has pledged to cut fugitive methane emissions by 61 percent and end routine flaring by 2030. But these are not new promises—similar targets under the National Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme and earlier climate commitments have fallen short. According to Nigeria’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, only 15 of 62 oil and gas companies submitted required greenhouse gas reports in 2022 and 2023. The pattern is clear: strong pledges, weak delivery.
The solution lies in enforcement. Independent, third-party monitoring and verification should be mandatory across all operations, building on existing rules. Regulators must verify compliance, impose penalties, and track progress. Without this shift, current commitments risk becoming just another set of unfulfilled promises. The cost of inaction is measured in billions of lost revenue and communities like Bille living with the consequences.
Tengi George-Ikoli, country manager at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, writes from Abuja, Nigeria, while Charles Ofori, policy lead at the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, writes from Accra, Ghana.
