(Petrobras, 5.Jun.2015) – Brazil is now among the countries that best use their natural gas output.
By significantly reducing gas flaring on its platforms, in Feb.2015 Petrobras achieved a record 96.5% gas usage rate in its exploration and production activities, considering total production in the fields operated by the company.
Petrobras’ Gas Usage Optimization Program (POAG), under way since 2010 at its E&P area operational units in the South-Southeast region of Brazil, contributed decisively to this record. This initiative was the subject of a talk entitled “Reduction of Petrobras’ gas flaring,” presented by the program’s coordinator, Vitor Souza Lima, 5.Jun.2015 at the World Gas Conference (WGC 2015) in Paris.
It is estimated that through this reduction in gas flaring, Petrobras will have avoided emitting nearly 23 million metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere by the end of 2015. “The program’s aim is to increase natural gas usage in Petrobras’ E&P activities. As a consequence, we have cut our emissions considerably while increasing the gas supply in the market. Before POAG was started, half our greenhouse gas emissions came from gas flaring in our production activities. Flaring now accounts for one-sixth of these emissions,” explained Lima, based on data from the company’s Safety, Environment and Health area.
About gas flaring
Natural gas flaring is an inherent part of the production process in the oil industry, and takes place for a variety of reasons: safety, emergencies, operational abnormalities, scheduled maintenance and during the start-up (commissioning) of new platforms.
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