Nigeria remained one of the world's largest contributors to gas flaring in 2025, featuring among nine countries responsible for 83% of global flaring, the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report has revealed.
The report, released on Tuesday, identified Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, and the United States as the top flaring nations. In contrast, more than 90 other oil-producing countries accounted for just 17% of total flaring despite producing 54% of global oil output.
Nigeria recorded an 8% increase in gas flaring volumes alongside an 8% rise in crude oil production during the year, underscoring persistent infrastructure challenges in the country's oil and gas sector. Flaring intensity — the volume of gas flared per barrel of oil produced — remained broadly flat, mirroring trends in Iraq and Libya.
The World Bank pointed to inadequate infrastructure as a major obstacle to reducing flaring in Nigeria. Insufficient capacity to transport associated gas to markets, aging gas processing facilities, and high equipment downtime rates have all contributed to elevated flaring levels.
Other top-flaring nations showed mixed performance. Venezuela achieved an 11% reduction in flaring intensity, while the United States posted a 10% decline. Mexico, Russia, Algeria, and Iran, however, recorded increases in flaring intensity during the period.
The report noted that countries participating in the Zero Routine Flaring (ZRF) initiative generally performed better than non-participants, although overall flaring among endorsing countries rose in 2025.
Nigeria has repeatedly pledged to eliminate routine gas flaring and commercialise its vast natural gas resources. The country holds more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, among the largest in Africa. Successive governments have introduced policies aimed at capturing flared gas, reducing environmental emissions, and unlocking value from the resource, but the latest World Bank data suggests significant infrastructure investment remains needed to achieve those goals.
