A newly released report by the World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership (GFMR), in collaboration with the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, has named Nigeria among nine countries responsible for over 83 percent of global gas flaring in 2025.
The Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report revealed that Nigeria, alongside Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, and the United States, dominated global flaring numbers last year. Intriguingly, while these nine nations combined to produce only 46 percent of the world’s crude oil, they accounted for more than four-fifths of the total gas burned globally.
Gas flaring happens when natural gas associated with crude oil extraction is burned off instead of being trapped for industrial use, domestic consumption, or export. This process results in massive economic waste and releases substantial volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Global gas flaring climbed for the third consecutive year, moving from 157 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024 up to 167 bcm in 2025.
The World Bank estimates that this practice generated roughly 429 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in 2025 alone.
This figure includes approximately 50 million tonnes of unburned methane, which is recognized as one of the most destructive greenhouse gases.
The report also highlighted the massive scale of this global waste through striking comparisons:
The total volume of gas flared in 2025 surpassed the entire amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped through the Persian Gulf during the same year.
The wasted gas roughly matched the total annual gas consumption of the entire African continent.
The World Bank valued the lost natural gas at approximately $54 billion.
The Reality of Nigeria’s Energy Strategy
These findings arrive at a time when the Nigerian Federal Government is actively positioning natural gas as the bedrock of its national energy transition plan. Nigeria holds one of the largest proven natural gas reserves in Africa and aims to harness it to boost electricity generation, expand industrialization, and grow export revenues.
Through initiatives like the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), the government has repeatedly promised to halt routine flaring.
However, the World Bank’s latest data underscores the major structural hurdles Nigeria still faces in turning associated gas into commercially viable products.
Global Trends and Progress Metrics
More than 60 percent of the overall increase in global flaring during 2025 came from just three nations: Russia, Mexico, and Iran.
Russia maintained its status as the world’s top gas-flaring nation after experiencing a nine percent surge in its flaring volumes.
According to the report, ending routine gas flaring globally would require an upfront capital investment of between $70 billion and $100 billion.
The report emphasized that while the technology needed to capture this gas is already widely available, progress is stalled by:
Weak local gas markets
Inadequate infrastructure
Financing limitations
Deficient regulatory enforcement
Capturing this gas holds immense potential for energy security.
The World Bank estimates that just one billion cubic meters of natural gas can produce about four billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Despite the broader global increase, a few nations demonstrated notable success:
The United States achieved a seven percent reduction in flaring, aided by the launch of the Matterhorn Express Pipeline.
Kazakhstan has slashed its gas flaring by 87 percent since 2012 by implementing stricter regulations and maintaining steady investments in infrastructure.
The World Bank pointed to these specific cases as proof that with strong policy frameworks, proper infrastructure investment, and firm regulatory enforcement, nations can successfully curb flaring, protect the environment, and unlock substantial economic value.
