15 June 2010: The World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) incorporated Finland’s Wärtsilä, a technology provider, as the first associated partner to join the global effort to reduce the flaring or burning of natural gas associated to oil production.

A new GGFR charter allows, not just countries and oil companies, but also other relevant companies to join the partnership as an associated partner. Through Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel technology, associated gas can be converted to electricity and used for driving a compressor or a pump, instead of being continuously flared into the atmosphere. Wärtsilä’s gas-diesel technology offers fuel flexibility, enabling the engines to run on any combination of liquid fuel and associated gas. This flexibility is essential for oil and gas companies operating in environments where the associated gas volumes are constantly changing.
The GGFR is a public-private partnership of governments, state-owned companies and major international oil companies committed to reducing flaring and venting worldwide. It estimates that globally some 150 billion cubic meters of gas are flared or wasted every year, adding about 400 million tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in annual emissions. This is equivalent to all the Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) issued by the existing 2200 registered projects under the Kyoto mechanisms. The major flaring countries are Russia, Nigeria, Iran and Iraq. [World Bank Press Release]