Global gas flaring rose for the third consecutive year, surging to 167 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2025 and wasting an estimated US$54 billion worth of gas, according to a new World Bank Group report.
The increase comes as many countries, especially the poorest, face energy shortages, even though capturing this wasted gas could strengthen energy security, generate power, support economic activity that’s key to job creation, and reduce emissions.
The annual Global Gas Flaring Tracker, released today by the World Bank Group, finds flaring volumes in 2025 nearly equal Africa’s entire annual gas consumption and exceed annual LNG (liquefied natural gas) volumes transiting the Persian Gulf.
Nine countries, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, and the United States, account for more than four-fifths of global flaring, while accounting for nearly half of the world’s oil production.
“At a time when many countries are struggling to increase affordable and reliable energy, the economic development costs of continued flaring are simply too high,” said Demetrios Papathanasiou, World Bank Group Global Director for Energy.
“The gas currently flared could be captured to power industries and businesses, create jobs, and strengthen energy security.”
Many countries import costly gas while also flaring vast amounts of it at their oilfields. Eliminating routine flaring globally would require an estimated US$70 to US$100 billion, less than twice the annual value of the gas currently being wasted.
Countries facing high import costs and domestic energy shortfalls stand to benefit from increased energy access, new gas revenues, and lower energy bills.
Yet despite the tools needed to end routine flaring being well established, the practice persists.
According to the report, what holds back progress is not technical but structural: inadequate regulation, insufficient capital, limited market infrastructure, and a failure by operators and governments to treat reduction as a priority.
Where effective policies and regulations, targeted investment, and leadership come together, flaring declines.
Governments and operators that act decisively get results. Kazakhstan, for example, has reduced flaring by 87 per cent since 2012, including a further 16 per cent reduction in 2025 alone.
“The technologies, policies, regulations, and financing mechanisms needed to capture and utilise associated gas are available,” said Zubin Bamji, World Bank Manager for the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Partnership.
“What is missing, in too many places, is the leadership, prioritisation, and governance needed to put these solutions into practice, creating access to markets and infrastructure.
“The cost of inaction will be measured in wasted billions in revenue and energy insecurity for millions of people.”
The findings underscore a widening gap between the resources being wasted and the energy needs of some of the world’s poorest nations.
With flaring volumes now rivalling entire regional gas markets, pressure is mounting on governments and oil producers alike to close that gap through stronger regulation, dedicated financing, and clearer accountability for emissions tied to oil production.
As global energy demand continues to climb, the report suggests that the path to greater energy security for many nations may run directly through the gas currently being burned off and lost.
