Harnessing Flare Gas for Power and Cooling of Data Centres: A Sustainable Model for Nigeria

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Abstract Nigeria holds approximately 210.54 TCF of proven natural gas reserves as of January 2025, ranking ninth globally according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. Of this total, associated gas accounts for 101.03 TCF while non-associated gas comprises 109.51 TCF. However, inadequate gas utilisation infrastructure has led to widespread gas flaring, positioning Nigeria among the world's highest flaring nations. The Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report shows that Nigeria recorded a 12% increase in flaring volume in 2024, the second-largest increase worldwide. That year alone, approximately 300.5 billion SCF of gas were flared, resulting in economic losses exceeding 1.1 billion USD and emissions of about 16 million tonnes of CO2. This flared volume represents an unrealised power generation potential of 30,100 GWh. Beyond economic losses, routine gas flaring contributes significantly to environmental degradation and public health challenges in Nigeria, including air pollution, climate change impacts, and increased respiratory diseases. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and digital services has accelerated the deployment of modular data centres, which require reliable electricity and efficient cooling. These requirements pose serious challenges, particularly in energy-constrained regions like Nigeria. This paper presents a technical solution for utilising flare gas to simultaneously generate electric power and cooling for data infrastructure. In the proposed system, flare gas recovered from flare stacks fuels modular gas turbine generators integrated with absorption chillers, supplying both electricity and cooling to data centres. The system converts waste (flare gas) into high-reliability power and low-carbon cooling through a combined cooling and power polygeneration configuration. By recovering turbine exhaust heat for cooling, overall thermal efficiency increases from approximately 31.4% for a simple-cycle gas turbine to 66%. The economic performance analysis shows a payback period of three years and four months, making it a viable investment. This approach supports decarbonisation by reducing routine flaring and maximising circular use of thermal energy, while enabling energy-efficient, resilient data infrastructure with large-scale environmental and socio-economic benefits for Nigeria.

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