Masterful Collaboration: The World Bank, Masdar, Oil Companies and Others.

Every year, billions of dollars worth of natural gas are wasted as natural gas is burned or flared at oil fields across the world.

Gas flaring — the process of burning off associated gas from wells, hydrocarbon processing plants or refineries, either as a means of disposal or as a safety measure to relieve pressure — is now recognized as a major environmental problem, contributing some 400 million tons of CO2 emissions worldwide.

“Gas flaring has significant environmental and economic consequences that need to be addressed,” says Paulo de Sa, Manager of the World Bank’s Oil, Gas and Mining Policy division.

Major oil companies and governments are now working together to minimize this waste by jointly overcoming the barriers that inhibit more gas utilization. Forming a global gas flaring reduction (GGFR) group, supports the efforts of oil producing countries and companies to increase the use of associated natural gas and thus reduce flaring and venting, which wastes valuable resources and damages the environment.

GGFR partners have established a collaborative global standard for gas flaring reduction. This global standard provides a framework for governments, companies, and other key stakeholders to consult with each other, take collaborative actions, expand project boundaries, and reduce barriers to associated gas utilization.

GGFR partners include Algeria (Sonatrach), Angola (Sonangol), Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Cameroon (SNH), Canada (CIDA), Chad, Ecuador (PetroEcuador), Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Khanty-Mansiysk (Russian Federation), Nigeria (NNPC), Norway, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (Masdar Initiative), the United States (DOE) and Uzbekistan (Uzbekneftegaz) as well as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ENI, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Maersk Oil & Gas, Shell, StatoilHydro, TOTAL, Qatar Petroleum, OPEC Secretariat, the European Union, the World Bank and the IFC.

MENA (Middle East and North Africa) is the second major flaring region of associated gas in the world. The region flares about 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of associated gas, 20 percent of total global flaring. Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait are among the top 20 flaring countries in the world. Over the past few years, several of these countries have demonstrated a strong commitment to tackling the challenges surrounding gas flaring reduction. Creating strong partnerships and hosting GGFR events in the MENA region, is working to create a positive climate for the resolution of gas flaring practices.

Masdar, the Abu Dhabi based company responsible for the first carbon-free city in the world, supports GGFR. Sam Nader, Director of Masdar’s Carbon Unit, says, “GGFR forums, in the Middle East, allow us to examine the regulatory and commercial barriers that prevent the implementation of gas flaring projects; and highlight best practices that have been able to overcome barriers to gas recovery and utilization, including the role of the Clean Development Mechanism to enhance the viability of such projects.”