Unlocking the Value of Wasted Natural Gas

Building on the major success of the Global Forum on Flaring Reduction in Paris 2006, the World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Methane to Markets Partnership, and other major international partners organized a follow-up Global Forum in Amsterdam that was held December 3-5, 2008.

This year’s event brought together government officials from oil producing countries, representatives from major oil and gas companies, technology and service providers, and potential financiers, in a unique platform for the exchange of best practices and business opportunities.

The Global Forum provided a comprehensive review of regulatory and commercial barriers that lead to natural gas flaring and venting, and highlighted best practices and case studies of operations that have been able to overcome these barriers to gas utilisation. It also provided an opportunity to look at emerging technologies for flare gas utilisation.

The goal of the Forum was to help unlock the value of currently wasted natural gas, to improve energy efficiency, expand access to energy, and contribute to climate change mitigation hence promoting sustainable development. The approach to utilising this currently flared gas aims to be integral, tackling challenges in both gas flaring and venting reduction.

The Global Forum on Flaring Reduction and Natural Gas Utilisation was organized by the World Bank Group as a leading partner in the GGFR partnership, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Natural Gas STAR Program, Methane to Markets Partnership, and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP). The event was also supported by all GGFR partners, including 10 major companies, 15 countries, the OPEC Secretariat and the European Union.

Key themes of the Global Forum:

• Investment Incentive Framework
• Technology Solutions
• Operational Best Management Practices

About the Global Forum

Flaring and Venting of Natural Gas Wastes Resources, Harms the Environment

Flaring and venting of gas in petroleum production wastes a valuable energy resource and harms the environment. It is estimated that at least 150 billion cubic meters of gas is flared and vented every year, which is equivalent to nearly one third of the European Union’s annual gas consumption. The carbon footprint of flaring and venting exceeds 400 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Significant Opportunities Exist to Utilise Gas that is being Flared and Vented

Several oil producing countries and companies around the world have demonstrated that remarkable opportunities exist to utilise gas that is otherwise flared or vented. Typical gas utilisation options include re-injection, gas-to-pipeline, gas-to-power, LNG, and GTL. However, these opportunities have not yet been fully harnessed by relevant stakeholders in a number of oil producing countries.

The Global Forum Brought Key Stakeholders to Increase Gas Utilisation

This two-day Global Forum brought together high-level representatives from governments, oil and gas companies, international financial organisations, and technology and service providers to discuss issues and options in flaring and venting reduction.

The Global Forum was dedicated to discussing policies and regulations that enable flare and vent reduction investments. It also examined the potential contributions of emerging gas utilisation technologies, and provided the opportunity for sharing best practices of established gas utilisation technologies currently in use, and allowed for a discussion about opportunities to improve economics of flare and vent reduction investments. For the full agenda and proceedings please click here.

About the Forum Organisers

The Forum was organised by the Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR), Methane to Markets (M2M) international partnerships and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Natural Gas STAR program.

GGFR is a World Bank-led public-private partnership that includes major oil & gas producing countries and companies. GGFR’s main activities include: assistance to governments in developing the enabling environment for flare and vent reduction investments; advice on carbon finance activities; dissemination of best practices in flare and vent reduction; and facilitation of communication between key stakeholders at the country and regional levels. To learn more about global gas flaring and the GGFR partnership, please visit: www.worldbank.org/ggfr.

The Methane to Markets Partnership and International Gas STAR Program are partnerships that facilitate cooperative methane leak and venting prevention and implementation of mitigation technologies and practices that result in bringing more gas to markets. Methane is both the primary constituent of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas when released to the atmosphere unburned through venting and fugitive leaks in the oil and natural gas industry. A large percentage of these emissions can be cost-effectively reduced by applying existing technologies or by improving operational practices. Reducing fugitive emissions and venting reduces product losses, enhances energy security, lowers methane emissions, and increases revenues. For more information, please visit: www.methanetomarkets.org or www.epa.gov/gasstar/.

The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) encompasses most of the world’s leading oil and gas companies as well as industry associations and major upstream service companies. The Association’s members produce more than half of the world’s oil and about one third of its gas.

OGP represents the interests of the upstream industry before international regulators and legislators, including bodies of the United Nations and the European Union. OGP also works closely with other leading organisations such as the World Bank, the International Organization for Standardization and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Equally important is the Association’s role in helping members to achieve continuous improvements in safety, health and environmental performance in the engineering and operation of upstream ventures. As part of these efforts, OGP collaborated with GGFR on the Global Forum on Flaring Reduction & Associated Gas Utilisation in Paris in December 2006 and Amsterdam in 2008.