Nigeria: Nigeria's First Methane Disclosure Raises Questions Over Repeated Figures, Missing Data

A review of Nigeria's initial public disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions from companies has uncovered several discrepancies that could call into question the reliability of the country's emissions reporting. The analysis, conducted using the Emissions Monitoring and Accountability Tool (EMAT), found repeated methane emissions numbers across different companies, incomplete methane data, and inconsistencies in the list of companies that submitted data.

While identical figures in and of themselves are not necessarily a red flag, the exact matching of methane emissions between certain companies - such as Chevron Nigeria Limited and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) - is worth investigating. The report raised questions about the completeness of methane reporting, with only a minority of the 30 company-year records reviewed containing information across all three methane reporting fields.

Some companies, like Pillar Oil, reported the same numerical value for multiple greenhouse gases, leaving unclear why these values are identical. Methane reporting was notably incomplete, with only a fraction of the records providing information across all three methane fields. In cases where methane was reported alongside carbon dioxide equivalent, the conversion was ambiguous, making it impossible to independently verify the numbers.

Additionally, the total number of companies reported as submitting data did not match the number of entries in the reporting and non-reporting lists. This inconsistency further questions the accuracy of the reported figures. The analysis highlights the need for improved transparency and data quality in Nigeria's emissions reporting framework, especially as the country commits to ending routine gas flaring by 2030 and reducing methane emissions by 60% by 2031.