Global Gas Flaring Has Risen To Its Highest Level in A Decade

Global gas flaring has risen to its highest level in more than a decade, reaching 150bn cubic metres, the equivalent of sub-Saharan Africa's annual gas consumption, according to the World Bank-managed Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership.

Natural gas flaring refers to the combustion of natural gas associated with oil extraction, which occurs due to technical, regulatory and economic restrictions, with annual emissions exceeding 400 million tons of CARBON dioxide equivalent, wasting valuable resources and harmful environmental effects of unburned methane and black carbon emissions.

The 3% increase in gas flaring from 145 BCM in 2018 to 150 BCM in 2019 was mainly due to increased flaring in three countries: the United States (up 23%), Venezuela (up 16%) and Russia (up 9%). At the same time, flaring has increased in fragile or conflict-affected countries between 2018 and 2019, with Syria increasing by 35 per cent and Venezuela by 16 per cent, despite flattening and a 40 per cent decline in oil production, respectively.

"The data show that gas flaring remains a persistent problem that remains difficult or uneconomic to address in some countries," said Christopher Shelton, Deputy Director of the World Bank's Global Practice for Energy and Extractive Industries. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic poses additional challenges that could put sustainability and climate issues on the back burner. It is therefore essential to reverse this worrying trend and address conventional flaring once and for all."

Statistics show that the major flaring countries (Russia, Iraq, the United States and Iran) accounted for nearly half (45%) of global gas flaring for three consecutive years (2017-2019). From 2012 to 2019, flaring fell by 9 billion cubic metres, or 10 per cent, compared with other oil producers, including these four. Global gas flaring fell by 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, with most of the 30 major countries experiencing declines.

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