Between 2015-19, oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea released 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through venting and flaring, with the average annual emissions over this period equivalent to those of a coal-fired power station.

An investigation by Greenpeace also found that, since 2015 – when BP, Total and Repsol promised to curb these emissions as part of their commitment to the Paris Agreement – venting and flaring  emissions from their North Sea operations actually increased. According to Rystad Energy, a leading oil and gas consultancy, an estimated 77% of emissions from flaring in 2019 were the result of routine flaring.

In contrast to Norway, which banned ‘non-emergency’ flaring in 1972, the UK does not have strict rules and instead leaves it to the regulator, the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA), to issue consents to vent or flare. The rate of flaring on the UK Continental Shelf is consequently 11 times higher than in Norway and twice the North Sea average, according to the consultancy Capterio.

Despite this gulf in emissions performance, a new strategy published by the OGA last year, setting out how it will help the government to meet its net zero target, committed to reduce emissions from venting and flaring only “as far as reasonable in the circumstances.”

In recent years both Shell and BP have sought to encourage public debate about how individuals can reduce their own emissions – with the latter even launching a carbon footprint calculator that encourages users to “pledge” to BP the amount by which they will cut their climate impact. Yet, according to the data, the combined emissions from venting and flaring by the two companies in the North Sea alone were equivalent to 5 million people flying from London to New York and back.

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