Russia could top World Bank '05 list for gas waste
13 Dec 2006 20:42:59 GMT Source: Reuters
By Muriel Boselli PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russia, the world's top natural gas exporter, was likely the world's biggest producer in 2005 of natural gas flaring -- which wastes energy and contributes to global warming -- the World Bank's global gas flaring reduction partnership (GGFR) said on Wednesday. "Russia in 2004 reported some 15 billion cubic metres of flaring but we know that the real figure is much higher and estimate Russia could top the list for 2005," GGFR spokesman Mauricio Rios said on the sidelines of the GGFR conference in Paris. Nigeria was the biggest gas-flaring offender in 2004. Flaring and venting of natural gas in oil wells is a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming. When crude oil is brought to the surface from several kilometres below, gas associated with oil extraction also comes to the surface. If oil is produced in areas lacking in gas infrastructure or a nearby gas market, a big slice of this associated gas is released, adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Flaring releases about 390 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere. The GGFR work programme focuses on trading the associated gas, regulatory frameworks, capacity building to obtain carbon credits for flaring and venting reduction projects, and implementing the GGFR gas flaring and venting standard. REDUCTION EFFORTS HAVE BEGUN While some countries such as Russia have so far failed to join the World Bank effort, other countries and oil majors are showing ambitious flaring reduction targets. Algeria's Sonatrach even aims to eliminate gas flaring completely by 2010 and says it has been working to that end since the 1970s. "We have had dozens of projects since 1973," Mohamed Meziane, chief executive of Sonatrach, told delegates at the conference, adding that gas flaring in Algeria had more than halved in the last 10 years while gas production had doubled. Christophe de Margerie, head of exploration and production at French oil giant Total <TOTF.PA>, said that while he believed it was impossible to eliminate gas flaring it was still aiming to halve flaring between 2005 and 2012 in existing projects. Nigeria, which topped the 2004 gas flaring list with 24.1 billion cubic metres of gas flared, now plans to stop flaring completely by 2008. "The country now has one of the world's most ambitious gas flaring cutting plans," said Rashad Kaldany, director of the oil, gas, mining and chemicals department at the world bank group. It is estimated that some 150 billion cubic metres of natural gas are flared and vented annually, equivalent to 30 percent of the European Union's annual gas consumption, the GGFR said. "Over the past few years some small progress in flaring reduction has been achieved but it is clearly not enough," Kaldany said.
