Oil and gas companies in Nigeria have flared gas worth $485.3 million in the first six months of 2023, a development hinged largely on improved crude oil production.

Data gleaned from the Nigeria Gas Flare Tracker (GFT), a satellite-based technology, shows that Nigeria’s gas flares rose by 9.97 percent from $441.3 million in the same period of 2022 to $485 million this year.

Nigeria flared 138.7 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of gas from January to June, according to the GFT.

Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction. It occurs due to various issues, from market and economic constraints to a lack of appropriate regulation and political will.