GGFR Discusses Role of Partnership Towards Minimum Flaring

Muscat – Oman: 05 November 2013 – With the Gas Arabia Summit approaching, Fabrice Mosneron Dupin, Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) Advisor, discusses the role of the partnership towards minimum flaring, drivers that companies should keep in mind when implementing flare reduction plans, and the reason why GGFR is partnering with the Gas Arabia Summit.

Organised by the Energy Exchange in partnership with Saudi Aramco, and under the endorsement and advice of the GGFR, the Gas Arabia Summit will be held from 8 – 11 December at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Muscat, Oman, and will commence with a Gas Flaring Reduction Day.

GGFR is a World Bank-led partnership between governments, national oil companies and international oil companies that have jointly decided to reduce gas flaring around the world, thereby saving valuable resources and the environment. Every year, billions of dollars' worth of natural gas are wasted, burned or flared at oil fields across the world, with an estimated 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas flared annually.

Working on various levels, GGFR partners help monitor global flaring through satellite observations in collaboration with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA); facilitate dialogue between regulators and producers; and provide advice on balanced and efficient regulations, among other activities.

Highlighting the results from the various efforts made by GGFR and its partners, Mr. Mosneron Dupin said: “In the past six years, we have achieved a 20 per cent reduction in global gas flaring, reducing the waste of a valuable energy resource, resulting in a drop in global CO2 emissions – which is roughly equivalent to taking some 52 million cars off the road. Additionally, a number of major gas flaring reduction projects have been launched, including the multi-billion dollar Angola LNG project, Basrah Gas Company in Iraq, Jetty Boil-off Gas in Qatar, and Anguille in Gabon - just to name a few. We have also more broadly increased the awareness of the industry and the public on the environmental, economic and social impacts of gas flaring around the globe.”

Speaking further about GGFR and its partners, Mr. Mosneron Dupin added: “All our partners have endorsed the GGFR Voluntary Standard and are therefore committed to no flaring in new projects, and to eliminate continuous production flaring unless there are no feasible alternatives. At this stage of the partnership, we are putting particular attention to developing robust gas markets that will enable greater utilization of associated and non-associated gas, as well as increasing access to energy.”

GGFR also plays an important role in facilitating the sharing of effective technologies and regulations, as well as creating synergies between governments and companies, and helping structure the gas value chain toward markets. With operators and governments becoming more conscious about the necessity to reduce their environmental footprint to the strict minimum, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to consider the value of this resource for the country and for local communities, while implementing flare reduction plans. There is a combination of environmental, social and development drivers for companies, but these can only materialize if an economic solution is also found with the help of a platform like GGFR.

Referring specifically to the Middle East region and its progress in terms of flare reduction, Mr. Mosneron Dupin said: “The Middle East is a region of heavy contrasts when it comes to gas flaring reduction. Some countries have been extremely successful, while others are still in the top ten flaring countries.  Most countries of the region rely heavily on gas for power generation and industry. They have very low natural gas pricing policies, which lead to a fast-growing demand, but fail to enhance production investments. As a result they experience an increasing gas deficit despite the huge reserves in the region.”

GGFR is already working to tackle these contradictions by working with important partners such as Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq.  However, through their participation at the Gas Arabia Summit, GGFR hopes to further outreach to other country and company representatives, and explore ways in which these entities can join GGFR's global efforts to minimize flaring around the world.

Since the oil and gas industry worldwide is looking for ways to increase the use of associated natural gas and in turn reduce flaring and venting, the agenda for the Gas Flaring Reduction Day focuses on presentations, case studies and roundtables on  various topics, including: updates on the achievements and challenges of the World Bank's GGFR partners; Shell's Iraq story; Flare design challenges at Shaybah NGL facilities; and others.