INFLUENCE OF ASSOCIATED PETROLEUM GAS COMBUSTION VOLUMES ON AVERAGE ANNUAL SURFACE AIR TEMPERATURE INCREASE IN WESTERN SIBERIA

Abstract

On April 2016, Russia signed the Paris Climate Agreement, under which by 2030 it pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to no more than 70 % of 1990 levels annually. However, this may be hindered by a number of factors, in particular the significant increase in oil production at new oil and gas fields being brought into commercial development. Most of these facilities are concentrated in inaccessible areas with poor infrastructure, which significantly complicates the process of associated petroleum gas utilization and calls into question the fulfillment of commitments made. At the moment, carbon regulation in Russia is at the initial stage: in 2018, the level of greenhouse gas emissions from Russia amounted to only 52 % of the 1990 level. This has a significant contribution to the change in the temperature background of oil-producing regions, the main one being Western Siberia. Therefore, the study of such a massive anthropogenic impact on the environment, such as the mass flaring of associated petroleum gas on an industrial scale, is confidently correlated with Russia's stated strategic goals to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.