Peter Uzoho in Abuja
German Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Annett Günther, has disclosed that Nigeria lost an estimated $1.5 billion to gas flaring in 2024 after burning 5.3 billion cubic meters of associated gas, placing the country seventh globally in flare volumes.
Günther made the assertion yesterday in Abuja during a fireside chat at the ongoing 25th Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week, with the theme, “Advancing Energy Ambitions for Competitive and Resilient Economies.”
She said Germany had commissioned a new project to convert flare gas into economic value for Nigerian households, industry, and potentially hydrogen production, as part of a nearly two-decade partnership now anchored on a Joint Declaration of Intent on Bilateral Energy Transition Dialogue signed in 2025.
“Just for context, 5.3 billion cubic meters of gas was flared in 2024 in Nigeria which makes it the seventh rank in the world and that equals an economic loss of US$1.5 billion,” the envoy said.
She added, “So, this new programme now is to work together and find out how to utilise those flare gases more efficiently, bring down emissions, generate additional value, and use the gas to supply households and industry or even maybe to produce hydrogen.”
Günther traced the bilateral relationship to 2008, when both countries created the German-Nigerian Energy Partnership.
She explained that the framework was extended in 2012 with a dedicated energy desk at the German-Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, and supplemented in 2013 with the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP).
According to her, NESP, delivered by GIZ, has run for more than 10 years and is now in its sixth phase.
She added that in 2021, Germany opened the German-Nigerian Hydrogen Office, branded the H2 Diplomacy Office, to explore low-carbon hydrogen opportunities.
The latest milestone, she said, came in 2025 with the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent on Bilateral Energy Transition Dialogue and Cooperation.
Günther stated, “So, it has been steps and steps and our cooperation is evolving because I think the major part is, we want to support Nigeria to implement its energy transition plan.
“We want to contribute in various sectors and want to coordinate over these many systems and also we must not forget that climate issues always come along when we talk about energy, especially oil and gas.”
The ambassador outlined three focal areas for the bilateral partnership, saying the first is low-carbon energy carriers and power generation, covering photovoltaic, low-carbon and free hydrogen, natural gas infrastructure, and shared commitment to global climate goals.
While Nigeria looks toward achieving net zero in 2060, she said Germany also wanted to go net zero in 2045, a bit earlier.
She said her country had keen interest to work together with Nigeria to source some of the important cleaner carriers of energy.
Günther stressed that global disruptions had made diversification urgent, recalling all the global disruptions that happened in the Middle East and the Russian-Ukraine conflict.
“So, everybody wants to diversify because you never know what’s going to happen next and that’s why even for the German government, this cooperation is very important also for our companies,” she added.
She stated that the second pillar was skill development and private sector mobilisation.
“So that’s why it’s very critical and our development of the GIZ programme is now connected with Siemens Energy and the EU programme and they have started a programme,” Günther stated.
She said the newest initiative, commissioned by the German Foreign Office, sought to translate the energy partnership into concrete flare-gas commercialisation.
By capturing and monetising gas currently being burnt at oil fields, Nigeria could cut emissions, boost power and industrial feedstock, and create new revenue streams.
The project would examine technical, regulatory, and financing models to channel flare gas to households, manufacturers, and emerging hydrogen value chains.
