Watch oil companies waste gas around the world: video

Check out the video below to see some of the world’s gas flaring stations.

There are two excuses for gas flares, say the oil and gas industries: the first is that there is no other way to transport or process the gas for further use. The second is that it can act as a safety mechanism in gas equipment, to prevent overpressure.

However, according to a report from GE, around 150 billion cubic meters of gas is flared a year. This is the equivalent to:

• Gas use in all US residences
• 30% of EU natural gas use
• 2.4 million barrels of oil per day
• 400 million tonnes of CO2
• Emissions from 77 million cars