Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
World Bank calls on Govts., development institutions to endorse Zero Routine Flaring by 2030
One of Guyana’s most significant development partners for the oil sector, the World Bank, has issued a call for Guyana, other governments across the world, oil companies, and development institutions, to endorse its ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ Initiative.
In its statement, the financial institution noted that during oil production, associated gas is produced from the reservoir together with the oil. Much of this gas is utilized or conserved because governments and oil companies have made substantial investments to capture it; nevertheless, some of it is flared because of technical or economic constraints. When this occurs, the World Bank said that thousands of gas flares at oil production sites around the globe burn approximately 140 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually, causing more than 300 million tons of Carbon Dioxide and other toxic gases to be emitted into the atmosphere.
Further to this, the World Bank stressed that the flaring of gas contributes to climate change and impacts the environment through the emission of carbon dioxide, black carbon and other pollutants. It also wastes a valuable energy resource that could be used to advance the sustainable development of producing countries.
Taking this into account, the Bank said it has introduced a “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” initiative (the Initiative), which brings together governments, oil companies, and development institutions which recognize the flaring situation described above is unsustainable from resource management and environmental perspective, and who agree to cooperate to eliminate routine flaring no later than 2030.
The bank noted that governments that endorse the Initiative would be required to provide a legal, regulatory, investment, and operating environment that is conducive to upstream investments and to the development of viable markets for utilization of the gas and the infrastructure necessary to deliver the gas to these markets. This will provide companies the confidence and incentive as a basis for investing in flare elimination solutions.
Since December 20, 2019 to now, American oil giant, ExxonMobil, has flared over 10 billion cubic feet of gas due to mechanical issues with the gas compressor system for the Liza Destiny vessel. While the compressor system is still being fixed, ExxonMobil continues to burn over 15 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Kaieteur News, by way of extensive research, would have shown how gas flaring contributes to climate change, which has serious implications for the world.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, was keen to note in one of its studies that gas flaring is actually a major source of greenhouse gases (GHG) contributing to global warming which could accelerate the problem of climatic change and harsh living conditions on earth, if not checked.
The Department also notes that there are over 250 toxins released from flaring including carcinogens such as benzopyrene, benzene, carbon disulphide (CS2), carbonyl sulphide (COS) and toluene; metals such as mercury, arsenic and chromium; sour gas with Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO2); Nitrogen oxides (NOx); Carbon dioxide (CO2); and methane (CH4) which contributes to the greenhouse gases.
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