Neptune backs World Bank zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative

North Sea-focused Neptune Energy said on October 21 it endorsed the World Bank's initiative to make routine flaring a thing of the past by the end of the decade.

The initiative is already supported by various governments, companies and development institutions, and in line with its objective, Neptune said it would report annually on its flaring and its progress on phasing out the routine use of the practice.

Flaring is a major source of CO₂ emissions from upstream operations, and can also be a key contributor of methane emissions when the gas escapes into the atmosphere unburnt. Flaring can be avoided by commercialising as much produced gas as possible, re-injecting it into reservoirs or using it to generate electricity.

Neptune operates in Norway, which banned the non-emergency use of flaring as far back as 1972, and in the UK, which is striving to take this step by 2030. The company's main operations are in the Netherlands, and the EU also has this 2030 goal.

"Neptune has set ambitious emissions reduction targets across our operations, with our endorsement of World Bank's Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative further demonstrating our commitment," the company's vice president for operations in Europe, Pete Jones, said in a statement. "We already have one of the lowest methane intensities in the industry at 0.02%. But we want to go further, which is why we are supporting this initiative."

Neptune is also targeting a carbon intensity of 6 kg of CO₂/barrel of oil equivalent and net-zero methane emissions by 2030.