Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring

Earl Russell Excerpts

Tuesday 28th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I just want to point out a few facts on this. As of 2023, methane emissions from upstream oil and gas accounted for less than 2% of all methane emissions. In its emissions monitoring report this year, the North Sea Transition Authority estimates that absolute methane emissions from oil and gas production have fallen by more than 60%, and flaring reduced by 51% between 2018 and 2024. The regulator issues consents for flaring and venting activity, with strict limits, and uses enforcement with fines of more than half a million pounds. The regulator is also taking action to increase transparency and accountability with regular published updates. I think our approach is working.

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, when it comes to routine venting and flaring, there are different estimates about the extent and scale of the problem. Given the loss of MethaneSAT in June, what actions are the Government taking to work with partners to improve international monitoring capabilities?

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

On transparency, the regulator benchmarks performance asset by asset across UK infrastructure for oil and gas rigs, and shares findings with operators to encourage sharing of best practice. The NSTA publishes data publicly on our website on flaring, venting and the methane performance of different assets. We are working in collaboration on that with the rest of the world, considering that we signed up to the World Bank zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative.