Venezuela plans to reduce its widespread venting and flaring of natural gas by 71pc by 2030 from 2024 levels according to its latest climate plan, or national determined contribution (NDC), sent to the UN climate body the UNFCCC.
In its latest NDC Venezuela aims to spend $7bn to 2030 on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with $1.1bn of that directed to adapting the gas industry. This is Venezuela's second NDC, with goals to 2030, although many countries are working on commitments under the Paris climate agreement that reach to 2035.The country kept its 2030 target to a 20pc reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) compared with a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. BAU scenarios typically assume emissions based on current policies, leaving room for further increases.
Natural gas featured little in Venezuela's first NDC, submitted in 2017. The new efforts would reduce flaring by 917mn cf equivalent/d of day, or 20.7mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), according to Venezuela's plan.
The pledge comes as a lack of infrastructure and processing capacity has led Venezuela to waste as much as half of its gas production of roughly 4 Bcf/d after years of decline in its oil industry.
It has unsuccessfully sought agreements to export gas to Colombia and recently cancelled an agreement with Trinidad and Tobago to explore joint gas reserves, with US sanctions and disagreements over US military presence off Venezuela's shores hampering both plans.
About 90pc of Venezuela's gas production is associated, according to industry estimates, so it cannot cut back on gas output withing reducing oil production.
Now Venezuela says it wants to focus on reducing wasted gas nationally and especially in the top gas-producing states of Anzoategui and Monagas. The plan will require "an increase in the capacities to handle, compress, treat, transport and distribute gaseous hydrocarbons destined for the use of the oil industry as well as for the national market", Venezuela said in its NDC.
Some gas would instead be routed to generate power, after Venezuela's has seen decades of power outages and shortages. Some power plants would be converted to burn gas instead of more expensive liquid fuels, it says. This could save an additional about 5.6mn t/yr of CO2e.
The seven plants included in this strategy include the 2,600MW Planta Centro, which in recent years appears to be mostly offline, down to the 44MW Santa Barbara plant, and are spread throughout the country. Venezuela has 3.4GW of total installed capacity, based on a summary of government figures by energy professor Nelson Hernandez.
But the government of cash-strapped and sanctioned President Nicolas Maduro will have trouble funding any climate proposals, one gas industry analyst who asked not to be named said.
The government "will just try and present this to multilaterals or foreign cooperation agencies, to see who bites", he said. The plan comes a week before the UN Cop 30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, where the host country has pushed to focus on funding for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries.
