Abstract
Since the exploration and production of crude oil began, the practice of gas flaring and venting has been used to manage associated gases. This practice has primarily been motivated by safety, operational, and economic reasons. However, people have become increasingly aware of the environmental impacts and sustainability challenges posed by gas flaring, which has brought these concerns to the forefront. Sustainability has been a critical challenge in the petroleum industry. Despite being a key driver in the World economy, the activities of the petroleum industry have also had negative impact on the environment, serving as a significant contributor to climate change. Therefore, given the sustainability challenges posed by gas flaring in the petroleum industry, it is essential to develop a sustainable framework that supports the industry's production process. This research developed a sustainable framework that integrates lean green management practices with efficiency evaluation, process simulation, and economic evaluation to achieve robust and sustainable gas flaring reduction in Nigeria. There is notably limited research concerning sustainable managerial practices and environmental considerations within the industry. This research aims to bridge this knowledge gap in four ways. First, it aims to investigate how the Lean and Green approach can be applied simultaneously to enhance operational efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in oil companies. This was achieved through both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The collected data were analysed using NVivo 12 and SPSS. Secondly, assessing the efficiency of oil companies operating in the region and estimating the maximum gas-flare reduction using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Inverse DEA methods. The maximum flare gas results determined by the Inverse DEA were applied in the third step to explore the feasibility of hydrogen production. this was simulated using the Aspen HYSYS V14 simulation software. Lastly, an economic evaluation was conducted to determine the financial implications of the hydrogen project.The results of the analysis of the interviews and survey questions show that integrating lean green would facilitate reducing gas flaring, as the oil companies are already lean and green-aware. the enablers of this lean green identified would facilitate a better management of gas flaring in achieving near-zero flaring. Based on evolving knowledge of the circular economy, a new category of lean waste, ‘Unrecovered By-product’, was proposed: the failure to utilise valuable by-products from industrial processes, which are usually overlooked as waste. This new type of lean waste aligns with the principle of the circular economy.
The economic analysis shows that the government's investment in blue hydrogen is financially feasible and would yield a strong return, with a payback period of less than 5 years, making the project appealing to strategic investors. The project involves a total capital investment of
$634,308,226.202 and yields a net annual profit of $139,236,351.02 from hydrogen sales. Over a 25-year lifespan and with an 8% discount rate, it produces a Net Present Value exceeding $852 million and an internal rate of return of 23%. These figures demonstrate that this gas-to-hydrogen project is a financially viable and sustainable method for managing gas flaring if adopted by the government.
Keywords: Gas flaring, Sustainability, Hydrogen, Technology, Petroleum Industry, Lean, Green, Lean green. Niger Delta, Nigeria
Publications
1.Dibia, F., Okpako, O., Radulovic, J., Dhakal, H. N., & Dibia, C. (2025). Techno-Economic Analysis of Flare Gas to Hydrogen: A Lean and Green Sustainability Approach. Applied Sciences, 15(14), 7839.
2.Dibia, F., Dibia, C., Dhakal, H. N., Okpako, O., Radulovic, J., & Isike, A. (2025). A Review on Achieving Sustainability in the Petroleum Industry Through the Integration of Lean and Green. Applied Sciences, 15(5), 2333.
3.Nkwunonwo, U. C., Dibia, F. E., & Okosun, J. A. (2023). A review of the pathways, opportunities, challenges and utility of geospatial infrastructure for smart city in Nigeria. GeoJournal, 88(1), 583-593.
| Date of Award | 3 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Oghenovo Okpako (Supervisor), Hom Dhakal (Supervisor) & Jovana Radulovic (Supervisor) |
