Despite the Niger
Delta’s great
energy wealth,
98% of the people
who live there
depend on biomass
fuels for cooking.

Oil wealth enriches Nigeria as a country, but it has not alleviated the grinding poverty, neglect and deprivation in the region that produces it. —UNDP, Nigeria (2006)

Squandering a valuable resource
Nigeria is the sixth largest oil producer in the world, and one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to the United States. Oil production is concentrated in the Niger Delta. Nigeria flares immense quantities of gases which could be used for alcohol production but are often burned or vented. Abandoned wells or wildcat flares allow gas to escape into the atmosphere.

Destroying the environment. The practice of flaring or venting these gases has an enormous negative impact on the environment and on the air quality in and around villages and towns located near the vents and flares throughout the Delta.

The numerous oil spills and the gas flaring in much of the delta have taken an enormous toll on the environment. Pollution has greatly affected the air, water, soils, vegetation and even physical structures. —UNDP, Nigeria (2006)

An urgent need for safe, affordable fuels
Only a small percentage of people living in the Niger Delta have access to LPG, a fuel which is both expensive and in short supply. A larger percentage of households cook with kerosene, a frequently unavailable fuel, which is contaminated and dangerous. Indeed, among the people of the Delta community, kerosene is commonly referred to as “killer kerosene” due to the high number of annual burns and deaths associated with its use. Kerosene is viewed as so hazardous that many people instead choose fuelwood for cooking. The majority of households rely soley on biomass (fuelwood) for their cooing needs.

Cooking with methanol. The Cleancook stove, fueled by methanol, is the ideal clean alternative for household cooking needs in Nigeria. Methanol can be manufactured cheaply and easily from the natural gas which is currently wasted through flaring. In an effort to stimulate a demand for locally produced methanol, Project Gaia, Nigeria is working to introduce the CleanCook stoves to households in the Niger Delta.

Initial study results.
In December 2003, Project Gaia began work in Nigeria by conducting a four month long pilot study which involved the testing of 15 CleanCook stoves in households in the Delta State. Results of this study were extremely positive, with all of the households reporting that they preferred the alcohol stove to their previous cook stoves. Moreover, data showed that 100% of respondents would be willing to purchase the stove if a regular supply of methanol fuel could be guaranteed.

From pilot study to sustainable stove and fuel business. These initial encouraging results led Project Gaia Nigeria to plan a larger pilot study in the Delta State to further explore the benefits and perceptions of this stove in the region. These data will provide the foundation for establishing a sustainable stove and fuel business, which will meet the household energy needs of the people who live there. The Delta State government is working closely with HydroChem of Linde AG, a technical partner on the Project Gaia team, and the largest supplier worldwide of small gas synthesis plants to industry, to develop a natural gas-to-methanol plant to capture this energy.

Next steps. A six-month pilot study involving 150 CleanCook stoves was completed in 2007 with very favorable results, most notably that the vast majority of participants found the ethanol fueled stove to be more efficient, safer and cleaner than their kerosene stoves. This study sampled a cross-section of households in the Delta State, and monitored a range of socioeconomic levels in both rural and urban settings. We are currently working with the NEPAD Pan-Africa Cassava Initiative to convert flared gas to methanol by building a 100 TPD skid-mounted methanol plant to provide alcohol fuel for early adopters of the new technology. The Center for Household Energy and Environment (CEHEEN) is the site facilitator for this study.

Our study partners
This study was made feasible by means of a United States Environmental Protection Agency grant, with additional funding from the Delta State government, Dometic AB (Sweden), and Stokes Consulting Group (U. S.). CEHEEN, an NGO working in the Niger Delta under the direction of Dometic/Stokes, serves as the primary facilitator of the study. The Stokes Consulting Group provides CEHEEN with technical assistance and serves as the key project administrator.

Contact us
If you would like more information about Project Gaia Nigeria, or have questions about this study or other Project Gaia activities, please contact us via email.

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