The World Bank on Wednesday welcomed Conoco Phillips' recent decision to join and support the efforts of other oil producing countries and companies in minimizing the wasteful practice of burning natural gas.
"We welcome Conoco Phillips into the Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) and look forward to working with them to reduce gas flaring," said Somit Varma, director of the World Bank and IFC's Oil, Gas, Mining and Chemicals department.
"Gas flaring harms the environment and wastes a cleaner source of energy that could generate much needed electricity in poor countries," added.
By joining GGFR, Conoco Phillips will be part of a select group of 10 major oil companies that have expressed their commitment to gas flaring reduction and are making efforts to minimize its practice by finding alternative uses for the gas associated with oil production, according to a statement released by the World Bank.
The World Bank's GGFR estimates that at least 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas are being flared and vented annually.
That is equivalent to 25 percent of the United States' gas consumption or 30 percent of the European Union's gas consumption per year.
It is also estimated that global gas flaring releases about 400million tons of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere. This is almost the same as the potential annual emission reductions from projects currently submitted under the Kyoto mechanisms.
Last December, during a Global Forum on Flaring Reduction and Gas Utilization organized by GGFR in Paris, the World Bank called on oil producing countries and companies to step up efforts in reducing the burning of natural gas as a way of mitigating the impact of climate change and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: Xinhua/agencies
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