Revealed: gas flaring at Equinor's global projects much higher than what the company reports
Norwegian national broadcaster NRK has published a damning investigation into the practice of gas flaring at Equinor’s oil and gas fields. This shows how Equinor's self-reported figures for gas flaring severely underrepresents how much of this climate-wrecking practice actually takes place at fields which they profit from.
What is gas flaring?
Gas flaring is the practice of burning off the gas which comes out of the ground while drilling for oil. The flares are the giant flames often seen coming out of smokestacks on oil installations. Gas can also be flared on the ground, at the top of an oil well.
The World Bank has estimated that globally there are 10,000 gas flares alight at any time and says the amount of gas burnt off this way last year could have powered the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. The process has been condemned as a danger to the environment and human health, as well as a waste of fuel. The World Bank for instance has called for energy companies to stop almost all flaring by 2030.
Gas flaring at Equinor fields
Equinor claims that they are a world leader when it comes to curbing flaring. But the company only reports on flaring for fields where they’re an operator and not fields where they’re a partner or own a share in a project. This is a massive loophole that Equinor has been able to exploit.
NRK has used satellite data to identify how much flaring takes place also at these fields, which span across eleven countries and which Equinor profits greatly from. The contrast is huge: Equinor’s own numbers states that 103 million cubic meters of gas is flared at fields where Equinor is an operator. NRK’s investigation suggests that 1506 million cubic metres of gas is flared at fields where Equinor is a partner, 1420 million cubic metres of which takes place abroad, despite the fact that Equinor’s production outside of Norway is much lower than on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
According to NRK, flaring conducted by Equinor and its partners represent as much as 1% of all flaring in the world. Most of the flaring takes place in Angola, Libya, Azerbaijan and Argentina.
Read more about Equinor’s projects in Argentina here.
Equinor must be held to account
NRK’s investigation shows once again how Equinor distorts and misrepresents numbers to present themselves as a more responsible company than they are. It also shows how Equinor follows different standards for sustainability and safety abroad than they do at home in Norway. Equinor’s leadership and its majority-owner the Norwegian government has to take responsibility for the impact of the fossil fuel projects that they are profiting from - regardless of whether Equinor is an operator or a partner.
Exposing the impact Equinor’s fossil fuel projects will have on climate, nature and local communities is a key aim of the Equinor Out coalition. Find out more about what we do and how you can get involved here.