Global Gas Flaring Tracker 2023 Report, considers the ‘state of the science’ and the uncertainty surrounding methane destruction efficiency of flares. Globally, CO2 equivalent emissions due to flaring could be higher than previously estimated, the new report suggests.
This year’s report finds that 139 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas was flared at upstream oil and gas facilities across the globe in 2022. This wasted gas could displace dirtier sources of energy and increase energy access in some of the world’s poorest countries. Routine gas flaring also represents a lost opportunity to provide many countries worldwide with much needed energy security.
Indeed, energy security has been a critical consideration throughout 2022, and reassuringly the estimates find that even as many countries have shifted away from importing Russian oil and gas, this has not resulted in a noticeable increase in Russian flaring. At the same time, it finds that the energy sources that many countries are turning to have, in many cases, been produced by countries who are also taking steps to reduce their gas flaring. Three countries—Nigeria, Mexico, and the United States— accounted for most of the decline in global gas flaring in 2022, with two other countries—Kazakhstan and Colombia— standing out for consistently reducing flaring volumes in the last seven years.
Two developing countries—Algeria and Egypt—also give us hope that progress on gas flaring reduction will accelerate as key ingredients for success, such as effective regulation, political will, and infrastructure are put in place. In both countries, we see noteworthy flaring reductions over the last few years but, perhaps more importantly, there are clear opportunities and efforts to further reduce flaring and utilize associated gas.
Urge is on all governments and operators to carefully assess how they produce oil and gas and identify and seize opportunities for effective and long-term flaring reduction.