Admin l Tuesday, June 11, 2019
ABUJA, Nigeria – Eliminating gas flare with a view to bequeathing a pollution-free environment to future generations of Nigerians remains a priority of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The corporation made this commitment at an event held today at the NNPC Towers to mark the World Environment Day.
A statement by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, quoted the Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, as urging members of staff to maintain the NNPC business culture of “working not to harm the people or the environment”.
Addressing the management and staff on the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, “Air Pollution”, the GMD who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures, Dr. Babatunde Adeniran, said NNPC had put in place a lot of measures to mitigate the impact of oil and gas exploration activities on the environment.
“As a corporate organization, NNPC is determined to reducing harmful emissions that can impact air quality and the well-being of God’s creatures in all aspects of our operations.
“We are committed to finding ways to fully commercialize our natural gas resources to eliminate gas flare in all existing future gas projects”, he said.
Dr Baru noted that air pollution was a major issue in today’s industrial world that needed all hands to be on deck to tackle.
Also speaking at the event, the Guest Speaker, Mr. Goni Ahmed, former Director General, National Agency for the Great Green Wall, commended the NNPC for championing gas-flare reduction initiatives that had helped Nigeria move from 2nd to 7th position in the global gas flare rating.
He expressed satisfaction with the measures the corporation had deployed to tackle environmental issues in the Oil and Gas Industry and lauded the GMD for ensuring availability of petroleum products across the country.
Earlier in his welcome address, the General Manager, Group Health, Safety, Environment & Quality (GHSEQ) Department, Mr. Hussaini Ali, said the programme offerred everyone the opportunity to contribute to the quality of the air we breathe, noting that the task of ensuring safer environment was a collective responsibility.
In the same vein, Manager, Operations, NNPC Health Manager Organisation (HMO), Dr. Getrude Bassey, advocated for strong individual participation in environmental management to avoid the negative effects of environmental pollution such as cancer, respiratory diseases, among others.
