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The GGFR supports efforts to capture and use gas that would otherwise be flared
25/10/2012
GGFR agrees flaring reduction target of 30%
Has already achieved 20% reduction since 2005
Helen Tunnicliffe
THE Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) has agreed a target to reduce gas flaring by 30% over the next five years at its latest conference in London, UK.
The GGFR is led by the World Bank and was set up in 2002 to support efforts to capture and use gas that would otherwise be flared. Its members include the European Union (EU), 16 oil-producing countries, such as Algeria, Cameroon, Iraq, Mexico, Nigeria and Norway, and 16 major oil companies, including BP, Chevron, Pemex, Shell, and Total. Since it was set up, global flaring levels have dropped by 22%, the equivalent of removing 52m cars from the road, with the biggest drops in Russia and Nigeria, which have reduced flaring by 40% and 29% respectively.
Around 200 representatives from the GGFR met in London from 23-24 October, and have called on oil producers, companies and countries, to help meet the target, which would reduce flaring from 140bn m3/y to 100bn m3/y by the end of 2017.
“To increase flaring reduction, countries and companies need to work together to nurture viable gas markets and build adequate gas infrastructure. Partners can seize business opportunities while also reducing emissions and expanding access to modern energy – a key goal of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative,” says Rachel Kyte, the World Bank’s vice president for sustainable development.
The Sustainable Energy for All initiative, launched by UK Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, aims to achieve three goals by 2030 – universal access to electricity, doubling the amount of renewable energy produced from 15% to 30%, and doubling energy efficiency. Kyte adds that the 30% target is realistic, and with a fifth of people in the world without electricity, we can no longer afford to waste the gas.
The GGFR has achieved several goals since it was set up. In Azerbaijan, national oil company Socar has reduced flaring and venting by almost half, and with BP, plans to put captured gas to productive use. Collaboration between GGFR, Pemex, Mexico’s energy secretary and regulators has reduced flaring by 66% while in Qatar, formerly flared gas is now producing a third of the country’s electricity, thanks to a partnership between national oil company Qatar Petroleum and Maersk.
