The World Bank released its latest report on global flaring. There will no doubt be headlines about how the U.S. is among the top countries in flared volumes. But that is missing the bigger picture...

For reference, here's a link to the World Bank report http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/503141595343850009/WB-GGFR-Report-July2020.pdf

The United States is the world's top oil producer, but it is not the worst in flaring -- whether you look at total volume, or intensity, which is the amount of gas flared per barrel produced.

Russia and Iraq both flared more gas than the United States in 2019. When you look at intensity, the U.S. is extremely low compared to other producers (chart from the World Bank report, p.7)

Moreover, as the World Bank notes, the trend in the U.S. specifically appears to be "improved utilization of the associated gas," which which means "we are likely to see a significant drop in gas flaring in the United States in 2020." (excerpt below, p. 4)

(Of course, we are in a pandemic and there was a historic oil glut earlier this year, so there would likely be a reduction in flared volumes for 2020 regardless.)

Let's also remember the recent headlines we've seen in recent weeks on anti-pipeline activism. The irony is that many of the loudest critics of flaring are also actively opposing the pipelines necessary to reduce flaring.

None of this suggests the U.S. should declare victory. Much more can still (and should) be done to reduce flaring. That starts with more infrastructure like pipelines, as well as exploring additional ways to connect U.S. gas to demand centers here and abroad.

But in the meantime, the World Bank report is notable in that it affirms a key point: U.S. oil and gas are produced under some of the highest environmental standards in the world. Barrels produced here often have a lower footprint than in other countries.

As we have important discussions about climate change and other environmental issues, we also have to meet global demand for energy. In those discussions, barrels produced in the U.S. should be seen as favorable to those produced by most of our competitors.