Country
Assessment
Between 2012 and 2022, oil production in Saudi Arabia fluctuated around 10 million barrels a day. The volume of gas flared over the same period dropped by 4 percent while flaring intensity also decreased by 10 percent, most of it between 2021 and 2022 (Figure ). There were 148 individual flare sites in the most recent flare count, conducted in 2022. Figure 1. Gas flaring volume and intensity in Saudi Arabia, 2012–22 Saudi Arabia submitted an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in October 2021. The NDC states an aim to reduce, avoid, and remove 278 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by 2030, more than twice the 130 million tonne target of the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. The NDC mentions zero routine flaring, and recovery and use of methane for electricity generation and petrochemicals manufacturing among the methane management measures. As a member of the Global Methane Pledge, the Kingdom will reduce methane emissions by 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030. Saudi Arabia is also a member of the Global Methane Initiative. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company and, until the sale of 1.5 percent of its shares in 2019, fully state owned, endorsed the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative in November 2019. The company, with the financial support of the government, implemented the Master Gas System (MGS) starting in the 1970s. The MGS is a large system that gathers associated gas and delivers it to various end-users, including petrochemical facilities and power plants, via a growing pipeline network. The development of the MGS allowed for flaring to be reduced from about 4,000 million cubic feet (mmcf) per day to less than 200 mmcf per day by the mid-1980s. Saudi Aramco continues to expand the MGS, which, as of early 2023, consisted of 50 gas-oil separation plants, 7 gas processing plants, 2 natural gas liquid plants, and a pipeline network of more than 4,000 kilometers.
There are no targets set for emissions reduction in laws or regulations. Saudi Aramco has a zero routine flaring program and aims for near zero methane emissions by 2030. Every Saudi Aramco facility must have a flare minimization plan and targets.
There are no specific laws or regulations on gas flaring and venting in oil and gas operations. According to Article 32 of the Basic Law of Governance (Royal Decree No. A/90), 1992, the state “shall endeavor to conserve, protect, and improve the environment and prevent pollution.” All companies engaged in the resource sector have been subject to the General Environmental Regulations of 2001. Royal Decree No. M/165, July 2020, enacted in early 2021, issued the Environmental Law. The Executive Regulation for Air Quality governs emissions across the economy, including vents and flares at petrochemicals and refining facilities but not upstream and midstream operations of Saudi Aramco, which is self-regulated via company engineering procedures and standards, including the Guidelines for Facility Flaring Minimization Plan (SAEP-400), Guidelines for Real-Time Flare Monitoring System Development (SAEP-400A), and Ambient Air Quality and Source Emissions Standards (SAES-A-102). According to Section 5.1.3 of SAES-A-102, best available control technology (BACT) and best available retrofit technology (BART) must be used to control air emissions for new and existing facilities, respectively. The guidelines reference the United States Environmental Protection Agency to identify appropriate BACT and BART. Facilities in industrial cities of Jubail, Yanbu, Ras Al-Khair, and Jazan are subject to the Royal Commission Environmental Regulations (RCER). Saudi Aramco procedures and standards, national regulations and RCER are, as far as can be ascertained from available documents, consistent with respect to main requirements pertaining to flares, vents, and fugitive emissions.
Saudi Aramco manages flaring, venting, and fugitive emissions from its operations, especially in the upstream segment. The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (the Royal Commission hereafter) regulates the same for downstream facilities in four industrial cities under its jurisdiction (Jubail, Yanbu, Ras Al-Khair and Jazan). For the facilities not covered by Saudi Aramco and the Royal Commission, the National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC) regulates flaring, venting, and methane emissions across all geographies.
According to Article 14 of the Basic Law , all resources belong to the state.
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.
Flaring, venting, and methane emissions are regulated by three entities across different jurisdictions and/or segments of the oil and gas industry. In addition, the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals is responsible for oil and gas policy and Saudi Aramco’s strategic plan. The Ministry of Energy oversees commercial activities in the oil and gas industry, including Saudi Aramco (see section 6 of this case study).
No explicit regulations on flaring or venting without prior approval were found. According to SAEP-400 , routine, nonroutine, and emergency flaring and how they will be managed and reported must be explained in each facility’s FMP. Section 8.4.1 of SAEP-400 provides the following examples of allowable reasons for routine flaring: safety (minimum purge gas to keep air out of the flare headers), leakage (control and safety valves), and normal operation control valve discharge. Section 8.4.2 provides an extensive list of nonroutine flaring examples. SAES-A-102 , Section 5.7, prohibits horizontal flares; refers to SAES-F-007 for flare height (air dispersion modeling is required but must be at least 30 feet) and other design requirements; requires FMP and FMS at all facilities; and mandates flow meters for each flare and reporting actual flaring data through the corporate FMS. Section 5.15 mandates leak detection and repair for fugitive emissions.
SAEP-400 details routine, nonroutine, and emergency flaring operations that are implicitly authorized. Saudi Aramco’s FMP and FMS practice suggests that routine flaring is marginal. Saudi Aramco has maintained a flare volume of less than 1 percent of total raw gas production since 2012 according to the company’s 2021 sustainability report.
Saudi Aramco’s stated aim is to eliminate routine flaring in its upstream operations by ensuring that oil wells do not go online until gas takeaway infrastructure is in place, and by deploying appropriate technologies across company assets as identified in the FMPs of each facility . According to SAEP-400, FMPs, updated annually or when there is a significant modification, must describe measures taken in the past five years that led to the reduction or elimination of flaring, as well as short- and long-term plans to reduce flared volumes further in the future.