Around one-fifth of emissions from North Sea oil and gas production activities come from flaring, a process used in fossil-fuel extraction which burns excess gases before they are discharged, resulting in CO2 emissions. Venting is the discharging of gases straight into the atmosphere without burning.
Flaring and venting of gases are periodically required for safety and operational reasons, but more can be done to reduce the amount it happens by industry.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said that the savings achieved in 2022 equates to the gas demands of approximately 80,000 UK homes.
This followed four years of reductions driven by “tough measures” to make UK oil and gas production cleaner, such as an investigation into an oil and gas company last year for flaring and venting without consent.
Some flaring is unavoidable for safety and operational reasons, but the NSTA said it had been “consistently clear” that more can be done to prevent the...