Africa aims to reduce routine gas flaring
African gas flaring offers opportunities and challenges
Sub-Saharan Africa is chronically starved of energy, and yet the region flares disproportionate volumes of gas every year
African governments and international bodies are attempting to reduce or at least discourage routine gas flaring, both for environmental reasons and to tap that unused energy resource. But the region still faces hurdles before it can utilise associated gas effectively. Africa—including the significant hydrocarbon-producing nations of North Africa—accounts for around 20pc of global flaring volumes but less than 10pc of oil production, according to the World Bank’s Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership. Algeria, Libya and Nigeria—among the continent’s largest producers—accounted for 70pc of the total in 2021. But World Bank data shows that sub-Saharan Africa still flared 13.66bn m³ in 2021—
Also in this section
6 February 2026
The long close relationship between key supplier Qatar and pivotal buyer Japan becomes even deeper following new landmark deal
6 February 2026
Partnerships across the LNG value chain have evolved over time, growing in both complexity and importance, according to panellists at LNG2026
6 February 2026
Nigeria's mega-refinery is still trying to solve many challenges, all while its owner talks up expansion
5 February 2026
While broadly supportive of EU efforts to tackle methane emissions, representatives of the gas industry warn it could deter supply contracting if timelines and compliance requirements are not made more pragmatic
