New year, no flare

Hey,

Happy new year 2026

Welcome to the first Green Jobs Rising of the year!

We’re starting the year with a green economy story you might not expect, it is not about solar panels, but it’s worth your attention.

The green transition means abandoning fossil fuels to embrace clean energy.

Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading oil producers, is also making strides in how it handles pollution, especially one of its biggest and dirtiest waste streams: gas flaring.

Instead of burning off gas during oil production, the country is now backing projects that capture that gas and turn it into usable energy and products.

Under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, permits have been issued to 28 companies to do exactly this. 

That is roughly $2 billion in investment, 250–300 million standard cubic feet of gas captured every day, about 6 million tonnes of CO₂ avoided each year, and close to 3 GW of power potential.

So how does this work in simple terms?

Oil production often releases what is called associated gas.

When there is no infrastructure to use it, that gas is flared, which means burned off into the air.

The programme brings in third-party investors to take that wasted gas and convert it into power, LPG, and other products.

Pollution becomes a resource, and the projects are judged on delivery.

Well, we can't really say this is the same as renewables, but it is a climate and public health win because it tackles emissions and waste right away. 

Global data continues to show gas flaring is concentrated in a few countries, Nigeria included, which is why interventions like this matter.

Why does it matter?

This is not a single company hiring a few roles. It is a pipeline of projects moving from permits to engineering, to construction, to long-term operations. Each stage needs people.

Projections point to over 100,000 jobs, with expanded LPG supply that could support cleaner cooking for around 1.4 million households.

During the construction phase, roles that will come to life include electrical technicians, welders and pipefitters, instrumentation technicians, civil works crews, commissioning teams, and support roles in quality control, site logistics, and procurement.

Once the plants are up and running, the jobs become more stable and long-term. Plant operators, maintenance technicians, control room and SCADA assistants, health and safety officers, field safety reps, and roles focused on emissions monitoring and reporting all come into play.

If LPG distribution scales as planned, there is another layer of work across the energy access value chain. LPG bottling and handling, cylinder inspection and testing, depot operations, logistics and distribution, customer safety training, and retail support roles are all part of the picture.

These projects will move beyond permits into construction and eventually operations, so if you want to be part of them, there are a few skill lanes to watch.

• Technical roles: fundamentals in electrical work, instrumentation, mechanical maintenance, and plant or industrial safety are strong foundations for gas-to-power or gas-processing sites.

• HSE and environment roles: safety training plus skills in emissions monitoring, inspection, and compliance reporting are common entry points, because flare-reduction projects still require strict operational controls and documentation.

• Data and reporting roles: being solid with spreadsheets, basic data checks, and clear reporting can lead into monitoring and reporting work (often called MRV) and ESG support roles.

• Project and commercial roles: procurement, logistics, site coordination, and contract support are widely used across energy projects, and those skills transfer well across the broader energy transition.

The green economy sometimes looks like wind and solar. Sometimes it looks like fixing what is already broken and turning waste into work.