The regulator's 2025 report shows more gas burned off than its January figures said

Nigeria burned off more gas in 2025 than the upstream regulator's first full-year figures showed. The gap is about 11 billion cubic feet, and it changes the direction of the story.

Two NUPRC documents, two answers

At the end of January, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) published its full-year 2025 gas production status report. Nairametrics and ThisDay both reported its figures:

• Gas flared in 2025: 203.97 billion cubic feet, up from 192.9 billion in 2024
• Share of output flared: about 7.54 per cent, down slightly from about 7.7 per cent in 2024
• Total gas produced: about 2.71 trillion cubic feet

The commission's 2025 annual report has now been released, and BusinessDay reported its figures on 6 November:

• Gas flared in 2025: 215.09 billion cubic feet
• Share of output flared: 7.89 per cent, up from 7.61 per cent in 2024
• Total gas produced: 2.73 trillion cubic feet

So the January report showed flaring growing in volume but shrinking as a share of output. The annual report shows it growing on both counts. NUPRC's annual report, as quoted by BusinessDay, says "the slight uptick in flaring" came partly from new producers whose gas handling equipment was not yet working.

We have not seen NUPRC explain the difference between its two sets of figures. Annual reports often use reconciled data that replaces earlier estimates, which may explain it. We could not find the annual report on NUPRC's website to check, and we could not open a second outlet's account of its flaring figures.

The worst months

The annual report names December as the worst month, with about 9.25 per cent of gas flared, BusinessDay reported. It blames problems with gas reinjection compressors on the Agbami production vessel after maintenance. The January status report had named September as the worst month, at 9.05 per cent.

Penalties up sharply

Companies paid ₦611.42 billion in gas flare penalties in 2025, against ₦391.26 billion a year earlier, the annual report shows, according to BusinessDay. That is a rise of about 56 per cent. Flaring is still often cheaper for a producer than building the pipes and plants to capture gas, which is why it continues.

Oil lost to outages

The same annual report says Nigeria lost an average of 116,563 barrels a day of possible crude and condensate output in 2025 to pipeline outages, leaks and shut-ins, BusinessDay reported. That is about 7 per cent of the 1.67 million barrels a day the country produced. The Trans Niger Pipeline, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line and the Trans Forcados Pipeline were the main lines named.

The losses were worst late in the year: about 172,761 barrels a day in October, against 25,780 in July.

Domestic gas supply averaged 2,230 million standard cubic feet a day, against an allocation of 2,892, about 77 per cent of what was meant to go to the home market, the report shows.

What it means for you

Gas burned at a flare stack is gas that never reaches a power station, a cooking gas plant or a CNG station. This week, with 12 power plants at zero on Sunday and the government and NNPC arguing about gas, the regulator's own report says more of it went up in smoke last year than first thought. If the official numbers can change by 11 billion cubic feet between January and November, it is worth treating any single gas figure, from any side, with some care. Why does Nigeria flare gas at all? Our simple guide.