The Oil and Gas Authority’s (OGA) has for the first time expanded its benchmarking to the flaring and venting of greenhouse gases on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) – detailing flaring and venting activity levels in the North Sea and the resulting contribution to UK oil and gas greenhouse gas emissions.
In a new report, OGA details the volume of gas flared and vented in offshore upstream oil and gas production last year was equivalent to 3% of all the natural gas produced in 2019. While some venting is unavoidable for safety and operational reasons, OGA believes more can be done to reduce this number.
The OGA issues consents for flaring and venting of gas on extant licenses and is exploring tougher measures as part of this process, to eliminate unnecessary or wasteful flaring and venting. As part of the OGA’s commitment to integrating net zero considerations into its work, it is aiming to closely scrutinize operator flaring and venting requests – in both existing production and in new field development plans. The OGA has also now introduced benchmarking of flaring and venting data in order to drive improved performance across industry.
Details Courtesy of Oil & Gas Authority.