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Global Gas Flaring Surges for Third Year: World Bank Report

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A World Bank report showed global gas flaring rose for a third straight year to 167 billion cubic meters in 2025.

This increase wasted an estimated $54 billion worth of natural gas at a time when many nations face severe energy shortages, according to the Global Gas Flaring Tracker released Tuesday.

Gas flaring refers to the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction.

When operators drill for oil, natural gas also flows to the surface. Instead of capturing and selling this gas companies often burn it off as waste due to a lack of pipelines, regulation, or market infrastructure.

According to the report ending routine flaring globally requires $70 billion to $100 billion in infrastructure investments. This total cost is less than twice the market value of the gas currently burned away each year.

The report further noted nine countries including Russia, Iran, Iraq, and US cause over 80% of all global flaring, even though they account for less than half of global oil production.

Many of these same countries import expensive liquefied natural gas while burning off their own domestic supply, the report added.

While countries like Kazakhstan have successfully cut flaring through strict policy, it said that progress has stalled globally due to inadequate regulation, low capital investment, and weak government leadership.

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