Abstract
One of the largest exploration and production of the oil and gas deposit in Africa is undertaken in Nigeria. The constant burning off of gases or the release of same directly into the atmosphere through gas flaring have become a usual sight in Nigeria till date. The irony of the matter is that the parent organizations of the
vast majority of the international oil companies operating in Nigeria have totally restricted the flaring of related gas back at their nations of origin, yet they find it helpful to degrade the
environment host communities in different nations by constantly flaring gas. It is noted that gas flaring disregards the essential
right to life and human dignity of the residents of Nigeria. Also, oil and gas exploration and production has the potential to cause
severe environmental degradation, not only to the physical environment, but also to the health, culture, and economic and social structure of the communities where it is produced. The
flaring of gas which by and large includes the consuming off of related flammable gas toward the finish of a flare stack or blast delivers mostly carbon dioxide discharge. There is therefore the need to stop gas flaring by replicating the approaches used in the
relatively advanced petroleum countries like Norway and Canada (Alberta) to tackle the menace. Hence this article is an analysis of
legal frameworks regulating gas flaring in Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Sector. It is a doctrinal legal research that adopts a library based research approach. Weak enforcement and ambiguity of some anti-gas flaring laws are largely identified as the key factors responsible for the menace. It recommends the use
of more advanced technologies, sophisticated mixture of regulations and none-regulatory incentives such as fiscal policies, gas market restructuring and proffer practical suggestions.
Key Words: Best Practice, Oil and Gas, Environmental Degradation, Production, Legal Enforcement.
