Qatar Petroleum to reduce gas flaring
08 March 2013
Qatar Petroleum (QP) and the World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) partnership have agreed to continue working towards reducing the flaring of gas associated with oil and gas production.
Representatives from QP and the World Bank signed an agreement in Doha in December, committing Qatar to participation in phase 4 of the GGFR partnership for the next two years.
"This partnership agreement supports Qatar’s ambition of becoming an energy leader that provides critically needed lower emission and environmentally friendly LNG to all corners of the globe, while maintaining economic diversification and environmental stewardship,” said Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of QP.
Qatar joined the GGFR partnership in January 2009, the first GCC country to do so.
Rachel Kyte, World Bank vice president for Sustainable Development, said: “Qatar’s support and concrete contributions to minimising emissions from gas flaring are critical actions to help limit global warming."
As part of its national development strategy, Qatar is aiming to halve flaring between 2008 and 2016.
According to satellite estimates, since the year 2000, whilst oil and gas production in Qatar increased almost four-fold, gas flaring has halved. Qatar flared nine cubic metres of gas per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) in 2000, against 1.1 cubic metre per boe in 2011.
The GGFR partnership, which recently marked its 10-year anniversary with a major Global Forum in London, has already helped reduce gas flaring by 20%, from 172 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2005 to 140 bcm in 2011. This cut has prevented some 274 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, roughly equivalent to taking 52 million cars off the road.