Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring
Baroness Hayman
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to end routine non-emergency venting and flaring on offshore oil and gas infrastructure.
Baroness Hayman (CB)
My Lords, in begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I declare my interest as a director and past chair of Peers for the Planet.
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Wilson of Sedgefield) (Lab)
In 2020 the UK committed to the World Bank zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative to end routine flaring and venting by 2030. The UK’s oil and gas sector has one of the lowest upstream methane emission intensities globally, but the North Sea contains a lot of ageing infrastructure, including much with only a short production life remaining. However, the approach the UK has been taking, with support from government and regulators, means that the industry is on track to meet its ambitious emissions reduction targets.
Baroness Hayman (CB)
I am grateful to the noble Lord for that Answer and recognise that some limited progress has been made, but it really is too little, and 2030 is too far ahead, given that methane is one of the most damaging, dangerous and fast-acting greenhouse gases. The practice of venting and flaring in non-emergency situations is both wasteful and damaging to the environment. We were very near to achieving a ban in the Bill that was going through Parliament when the general election was called. The Labour Front Bench at that time supported amendments for a ban. Why do we have to wait longer? Would this not be a very good initiative for the Prime Minister to announce when he goes to COP 30 next month?
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.
Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)
My Lords, while this is clearly a very important element when we look at the oil industry, Petrofac, a major employer in Aberdeen, is going into administration. There are 2,000 employees’ jobs at risk—1,200 offshore and 800 onshore in training and operational roles. The trade unions are seeking clarity from government on wages and entitlements. Has the Secretary of State for the Environment met with the trade unions? What was the outcome? Does the Minister agree that the rush to net zero by this Government is destroying jobs across the United Kingdom?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
We have to be careful in what we say about Petrofac. This is an international commercial matter and not related to UK policies or contracts. The company has faced significant challenges that go back several years. It received a significant financial penalty of £77 million, imposed in 2021 by the Serious Fraud Office following a bribery probe. Certain group entities have also been impacted by loss- making contracts.
The UK arm of the company, Asset Solutions, is successful and growing and will continue to operate as normal, including for workers. It is a successful business that is well integrated into the UK supply chain. There will be an orderly process led by the administrators to find a long-term future for the whole of the business, including Asset Solutions. The UK Government are working with all parties to ensure that we do everything we can to secure those jobs. This is a commercial issue, but Asset Solutions, the company in the UK, is a going concern.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, on the issue of net zero and the North Sea, can my noble friend remind the party opposite that in the last period of their Government, the CBI showed that the green economy grew by over 9% as opposed to a miserable 1% in the economy generally? Does he not think that the party opposite’s attack on net zero is quite extraordinary, given the vibrancy of the net-zero economy?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for that question. He is absolutely right. We need to remember the previous Government’s record on this. Because we are heading for net zero, we are seeing massive investment in the clean energy industry, creating millions of jobs in the long term and investments of billions of pounds. It is the way forward for the country and for the world, and we should continue doing it.
The Lord Bishop of Norwich
My Lords, the Minister mentioned our ageing infrastructure. We have become a global outlier in leak detection and repair to stop methane leakages. Norway has monthly checks, the US has quarterly checks and Canada is bringing in monthly checks. What is our policy, and will it mandate these leak detection and repair testing regimes?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
I thank the right reverend Prelate for his question. There are regular assessments of all this. As I said, the NSTA publishes data on its website highlighting flaring, venting and methane performance of different assets. We are well aware of the issues and are keeping on top of them. If there are any issues around this, especially on venting, fines of over half a million pounds can be set against the company involved.
Baroness Sheehan (LD)
My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, which last year produced a report on methane. Methane is responsible for a full third of the global warming we see today, but it behaves very differently from carbon dioxide because it is much shorter lived. Therefore, if we can reduce methane emissions rapidly, we can start to cool the planet within a decade or two. Given that the Secretary of State for DESNZ has accepted that credible UK leadership on methane needs a methane action plan, when will we see it?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
The answer to that question is that we are expecting it very, very soon. Not very soon—very, very soon. We will see it in the coming days.
On our record on methane, I will repeat what I said to the noble Baroness earlier. 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. We are making great progress on this. Is there more to do? Yes, but we are on top of it.
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, in his answers the Minister has mentioned many different forms of energy that make up the sector in this country. Can he tell the House how many jobs have so far been created by Great British Energy?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
As we know, Great British Energy has been set up in recent months. We have a great approach on the strategy for creating jobs. We are going to see jobs in solar, wind farms and nuclear, and we are making predictions that there will be thousands of jobs in the pipeline. As I said on a previous occasion on nuclear, for example, we are establishing the foundations for a golden age of nuclear energy that will generate a lot of power and jobs, and that is something to be optimistic about.
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)
My Lords, in July the World Bank reported that, in the last year, the fossil fuel industry had pumped out an extra 389 million tonnes of carbon pollution from flaring gas. That number rose for the second year in a row to the highest level since 2007. Will the Government make strong representations at COP 30 about gas flaring, and would we not be in a stronger position if we were further ahead in our own industry?
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. The COP meeting is in Brazil next month. We are advising the Brazilian Government on how to control zero routine flaring going forward, and we are not just doing it there—we are also doing it with the central Asian republics and Finland. We have a good reputation on this. There is more to do, but we are getting on with it. We have signed up to the World Bank’s zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative, and we intend to meet that target.