Gas flareThe Federal Government will next month award licences under the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) to qualified bidders as part of efforts to end gas flaring in the country and expand her gas footprint. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who disclosed this in Abuja, blamed the delay of the scheme on the marginal bid round, adding that with the licencing round off the table, the government would focus on the NGFCP and see to its completion before the end of June. x The World Bank had earlier in the month, said Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria remained the top seven gas flaring countries in the last nine years.