Global gas flaring down by 9% – World Bank

The World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) says reductions in gas flaring in several countries helped bring down flaring to 134 billion cubic meters (bcm) worldwide in 2010.

Citing the latest satellite estimates data gathered by scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the World Bank said this is a 13-bcm drop from 2009.

“This 9% global reduction was achieved even as global crude oil production rose by two million barrels a day over the same period”, the Bank said in a release on June 27, 2011.

According to the release, the decline was due to flaring dropping by 11.4 bcm in Russia and 1.2 bcm in Kazakhstan which is roughly equivalent to “30 million tons of Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, or to taking almost six million cars off the road.”

These two countries have made important investments in associated gas utilization projects, the Bank said.

Director of the World Bank’s Sustainable Energy Department, Vijay Iyer, said “These latest estimates reinforce a positive downward trend in flaring…Since 2005, gas flaring has dropped 22% thanks to the efforts of the countries concerned, and significant support provided by the Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership.”

The World Bank said, until concerted action to reduce gas flaring began after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, the practice associated with oil production added about 400 million tons of CO2 emissions each year.

By Ekow Quandzie