BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The global gas flaring increased to levels not seen in more than a decade, to 150 billion cubic meters (bcm), equivalent to the total annual gas consumption of Sub-Saharan Africa, Trend reports with reference to the World Bank.
The data was released by the World Bank-managed Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), which is composed of governments, oil companies, and international institutions working to end routine gas flaring at oil production sites around the world.
“The 3 percent rise, from 145 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2018 to 150 bcm in 2019, was mainly due to increases in three countries: the United States (up by 23 percent), Venezuela (up by 16 percent), and Russia (up by 9 percent). Gas flaring in fragile or conflict-affected countries increased from 2018 to 2019: in Syria by 35 percent and in Venezuela by 16 percent, despite oil production flattening in Syria and declining by 40 percent in Venezuela,” reads the report.
Gas flaring, the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction, takes place because of technical, regulatory, and/or economic constraints, according to GGFR.
“It results in more than 400 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions every year and wastes a valuable resource, with harmful impacts to the environment from un-combusted methane and black carbon emissions.”
The report shows that the top four gas flaring countries (Russia, Iraq, the United States, and Iran) continue to account for almost half (45 percent) of all global gas flaring, for three years running (2017-2019).
“When looking at all oil-producing countries, excluding the top four, gas flaring declined by 9 bcm (or 10 percent) from 2012 to 2019. In the first quarter of 2020, global gas flaring fell by 10 percent, with declines across most of the top 30 gas flaring countries.”
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