"Any operator who flares gas after 31 December, 2010 shall pay a fine and in addition loses its licence," Senator Osita Izunaso, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, told AFP.

The bill stipulates that the penalty for "gas flaring" shall be the equivalent of the international market rate of gas at the time the offence is committed, Izunaso said.

He said that under bill the gas minister has to put in place a gas reduction programme for all oil companies for the next 12 months to compell the operators to start reducing the amount of gas being flared.

He said the thrust of the bill includes gathering, utilisation and re-injection of natural gas, gas flare reporting, offences and penalties and power to make regulation in the sector.

Flaring, the practice of burning gas extracted alongside oil, constitutes a serious environmental threat.

Nigeria accounts for 13 percent of the gas flared worldwide, according to climate specialists.

Oil companies say phasing out flaring requires money and time.

In theory, flaring has been illegal in Nigeria since 1979, but companies have been granted exemptions year after year, allowing them to continue.

In December 2008, a ban that was supposed to take effect on January 1 was postponed.

The new bill is expected to be sent to the House of Representatives for similar approval before the president's assent.

Nigeria claims proven gas reserves of about 183 trillion cubit feet, making it the seventh producer in the world, but a large chunk of it is being flared daily.

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