Country
Assessment
The NPD under the Ministry of Petroleum Energy (MPE) is the key institution in charge of policy, regulation, and enforcement of gas flaring and venting. The Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment develops integrated climate and environmental policies. Its subordinated agency, the Norwegian Environment Agency, is the environmental regulator.
The MEM regulates flaring and venting. It negotiates exploration and production-sharing agreements with investor companies. All agreements are based on a template, but negotiations can lead to additional clauses and modifications, including flaring and venting restrictions. The Environmental Authority regulates environmental impacts, including from oil and gas operations.
Overall responsibility for overseeing subsoil resources, including policies for flaring and venting of associated gas, lies with the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment. Federal Law No. 7-FZ on Environmental Protection, 2001 established a specialized authority. This law assigns responsibility for oversight of compliance with energy regulation to the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources. Article 3 of Federal Law No. 2395-1 on Subsoil, 1992 establishes the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources as the central administrative agency for subsurface resources. It has no direct responsibilities regarding flaring and venting.
The NCEC, as a branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, is the environmental regulator. The NCEC regulates flare systems in many industries, including petrochemicals and refining—except for operations under the supervision of Saudi Aramco or the Royal Commission. The NCEC is one of the successors to the previous environmental regulator, the General Authority of Meteorology and Environment Protection, pursuant to the changes implemented by Royal Decree No. M/165 . The Royal Commission was established in 1975 to develop industrial cities at Jubail and Yanbu to create demand for natural gas to be captured and delivered via the MGS. Later, the industrial cities of Ras Al-Khair and Jazan were placed under the Royal Commission’s jurisdiction. Environmental approvals for Saudi Aramco projects, which cover almost all upstream and midstream activities in the country, are provided by the Ministry of Energy (formerly part of the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources). The Royal Commission is the environmental regulator for industrial and energy operations in four industrial cities under its jurisdiction.
The OGA issues consents for flaring and venting under the Energy Act, 2016 . Environmental regulation of the oil and gas industry, including compliance with flaring and venting consents, remains with OPRED for offshore operations and the Environment Agency for onshore operations. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency; Natural Resources Wales; the Northern Ireland Environment Agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs; and the Environment Agency regulate GHG emissions from flaring at onshore oil and gas facilities. Each agency manages and monitors the GHG permits and emissions plans of industrial facilities and aviation covered under the UK ETS in its jurisdiction. The Health and Safety Executive remains the safety regulator and takes the lead on offshore gas leaks.
Based on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act, 1951, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has the authority to regulate and enforce the development and production of the state’s oil and gas resources in a manner that protects public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources. As per the Colorado Air Pollution Prevention and Control Act, 1984 , the Air Quality and Control Commission (AQCC) oversees the state’s air quality and emission efforts. It has the authority to adopt emission control regulations.
The BSEE has the authority to regulate flaring and venting, including air emissions from them. The EPA has jurisdiction over offshore emissions as well.
The Department of Interior’s BLM regulates flaring and venting from oil and gas leases on onshore federal and Indian lands. State regulators or tribal authorities may have rules, regulations, or orders governing flaring or venting of oil-well gas or emissions from flaring and venting. The BLM’s regional supervisors ratify such rules and any flare or vent authorizations issued by appropriate state regulators. The EPA has regulatory jurisdiction over air emissions from flaring and venting.
The Oil and Gas Division of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources regulates the drilling and production of oil and gas in the state (including drilling permits and gas capture plan), but the NDIC has jurisdiction over flaring and venting. DAQ , regulates emissions from upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas operations. The BLM and the EPA, and, in some cases, tribal authorities have authority over oil and gas operations on federal and Indian lands.
The RRC regulates the exploration, production, and transport of the oil and gas industry. The TCEQ regulates air emissions.