UK North Sea operators are venting and flaring enough gas each year to heat 570,000 homes, wasting over £300 million of value and pumping methane into the atmosphere for no productive purpose. The technology to stop it has existed for decades. The will has not.

In this briefing, we examine the continued routine flaring and venting across the North Sea, identifying the worst offending platforms and making the case for bringing the ban forward ahead of a parliamentary opportunity in the upcoming Energy Independence Bill. While debate intensifies over new drilling, the case for expanding extraction is hard to make while operators are allowed to waste what they already produce.

For more information, contact
Liam Hardy, head of research