Capterio’s monthly flaring news round up – September

September 2026 saw a flurry of activity in the global effort to reduce gas flaring, with new gas-capture projects, investment announcements, regulatory developments. With the 2030 deadline for eliminating routine flaring fast approaching, these developments highlight both the opportunities to turn wasted gas into value and the growing pressure to deliver measurable results.

Here is our roundup of the month’s key stories from around the world on gas flaring. Whilst there are some exciting developments, there are also some areas where we need to see more progress. Fortunately, Capterio’s solutions are already helping to accelerate progress, powered by our real-time flare tracking tool FlareIntel.

As one of our network said “Robust measurement and continuous monitoring are often the missing prerequisite for any serious economic decision.”

Global news

• Capterio joins panels to discuss gas flaring reduction opportunities and approaches at Gastech in Thailand and also presents on a panel in Berlin’s third methane conference to discuss the upcoming methane regulation.

• Capterio publishes 2 new insights papers. One on “are gas flares super emitters?” and a report showcasing the joined up numbers across flaring and venting and leaking, highlighting the relative performance of countries and discussing the merits of various metrics.

• OGCI reports continued reductions in gas flaring (1 October). The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s (OGCI) 2026 Progress Report shows that its 12 member companies reduced routine flaring across their operated upstream assets by 14% in 2025, bringing volumes to 1.45 BCM, 74% below 2018 levels. Total upstream flaring also declined by 14% year-on-year to 9.2 BCM, with three member companies reporting zero routine flaring. Source: OGCI 2026 Progress Report.
  
• European Union – EU considers delaying methane regulations (29 September). EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen announced plans to postpone by one year, potentially until January 2028, new methane monitoring, reporting and verification requirements for imported oil and gas, following pressure from member states and industry over energy-security concerns. The proposed delay has not yet been formally adopted, and the Commission maintains that its overall methane reduction ambitions remain unchanged. Source: Reuters, 29 September.
  

Country news

• Iraq – Engineering advances on West Qurna gas capture (18 September). KBR and AKT were reported to be undertaking engineering work supporting the recovery of associated gas at West Qurna, as part of efforts to reduce flaring and increase domestic gas utilisation. Source: IraqiNews.

• Libya – Mellitah begins commissioning gas-recovery infrastructure (11 September). Libya’s National Oil Corporation announced trial operations at the KK Station gas-recovery project, designed to capture approximately 15 MMSCFD of associated gas through a new 40-kilometre pipeline connecting to processing infrastructure. Source: NOC.

• Nigeria – Regulator threatens to revoke undeveloped flare-gas permits (9 September). The NUPRC warned investors participating in the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme that awards could be revoked if projects fail to make sufficient progress, with 27 of 43 identified sites awarded. Source: NUPRC. An investigation examines continued flaring and enforcement (1 September), finding allegations of continued flaring and weak enforcement of environmental regulations around oil-producing communities in Rivers State. Source: Premium Times.

• Algeria – Sonatrach launches Ourhoud flare-gas recovery tender (3 September). Sonatrach initiated procurement for infrastructure to capture associated gas at the major Ourhoud oilfield, supporting Algeria’s ambition to eliminate routine flaring by 2030. Source: ObservAlgérie.

• Iran – Government reports major increase in flare-gas recovery (4 September). Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad reported that Iran’s flare-gas recovery had increased by 11.5 million m³/day, bringing the total reportedly recovered to approximately 17 million m³/day (6.2 BCM/year at continuous operation). These figures are government-reported and have not been independently verified. Source: Press TV.

• Iran – NIOC announces offshore gas-capture programme (8 September). The National Iranian Oil Company outlined a three-stage programme to recover associated gas from offshore oil facilities, potentially involving private-sector investors in developing gas-capture infrastructure. Source: IranOilGas.

• Russia – Government revises associated-gas flaring thresholds (23 September). Russia introduced revised thresholds for environmental charge calculations, allowing an 18% flaring share through 2029, declining to 13% from 2030, 9% from 2036 and 5% from 2050. These are thresholds for calculating environmental charges, rather than unconditional permissions to flare. Source: Government Decree No. 1221.

• Venezuela – Companies propose flare-gas-to-power projects (30 September). Reuters reported that several companies had proposed capturing gas currently being flared to generate electricity, helping address Venezuela’s power shortages and support oil production. Source: Reuters.

• Mexico – Pemex announces temporary operational flaring (11 September). Pemex notified authorities that scheduled pipeline maintenance would require approximately 28 hours of increased flaring at its Agave facilities in Tabasco, beginning on 14 September. Source: Pemex.

• USA – New Mexico operators submit gas-capture plans (September). Regulatory filings from operators including Chevron, Tap Rock and Mewbourne described plans for managing and capturing gas from new developments, including some temporary flaring during initial production operations. Source: New Mexico Oil Conservation Division.

• Iraq – BP faces threatened legal action over flaring at Rumaila (28 September). Lawyers representing nine residents near the giant Rumaila oilfield issued a letter before action alleging health and environmental harm associated with gas flaring.

• Angola – Azule Energy reports zero routine flaring across operated assets (24 September). Azule Energy said, in publishing its Sustainability Report 2024/2025, that it had achieved zero routine flaring across its operated assets; its investor page also highlights a 75% flaring reduction achieved. Sources: Azule Energy news and Azule Energy investors page.