Nigeria has been named among eight other countries that accounted for 83 percent or more than four-fifths of global gas flaring in 2025, while producing only 46 per cent of the world’s oil.

Published by the World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership, in collaboration with the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, the report highlighted that global gas flaring increased for the third consecutive year, reaching 167 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2025, up from 157 bcm in 2024.

The nine largest flaring countries, according to the report, were Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria and the United States.

These countries, the report said, were responsible for the vast majority of global flare volumes.

Gas flaring occurs when natural gas produced alongside oil is burned at production sites instead of being captured, processed and sold or used locally. The practice wastes a valuable energy resource and adds to greenhouse gas emissions,” the report stated

The “2026 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report” estimates that flaring generated 429 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in 2025, including about 50 million tonnes from unburned methane.

According to the report, more than 60 percent of the global increase in flaring during 2025 came from just three countries – Russia, Mexico and Iran.

“Together, these countries increased flaring by about six billion cubic metres (bcm), nearly three times the total reductions achieved by all countries that lowered their flaring during the year.

“Russia remained the world’s largest flaring country, with flaring increasing by 9 per cent,” it stated.

The volume of gas flared in 2025 exceeded the amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that transited the Persian Gulf that year, and was roughly equal to Africa’s annual gas consumption.

The lost gas was valued at an estimated $54 billion, highlighting both the economic and environmental costs of continued flaring.

According to the report, eliminating routine gas flaring worldwide would require US$70-$100 billion in upfront investment.

The World Bank notes that the technologies needed to capture and utilise associated gas are already commercially available.

The main obstacles are inadequate pipeline infrastructure, limited gas markets, lack of financing and weak regulatory enforcement rather than technological limitations.

According to the World Bank, reducing routine flaring could help countries such as Egypt, India and Iraq cut expensive gas imports, improve electricity generation and expand access to clean cooking fuels.

One billion cubic metres of natural gas can generate around four billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to make a significant contribution to underserved regions.

Down to Earth has it that countries such as Angola and the Republic of Congo, where large quantities of associated gas are flared despite low electricity access, could particularly benefit from improved gas utilisation

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