Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this Conference of the Natural Gas Flaring Reduction Initiative. I am happy to see that the Initiative has succeeded in attracting so many distinguished guests -- from the petroleum industry, national governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations -- to discuss how to strengthen the efforts to reduce venting and flaring of gas globally.

I believe the idea of the Gas Flaring Reduction Initiative was born about one year ago when the former Minister of International Development, Anne Kristin Sydnes – and she is actually also here today - had the idea of holding a seminar focusing on how gas utilization and poverty reduction can be seen in connection. That seminar was held in June last year. Quite a few of you who are here today (including HE Minister for Environment in Nigeria, Imeh Okopido) were present at that seminar. It was successful, and concluded that joint efforts by industry, governments and international organisations should be sought to address the flaring problems.

Norway contributed to the funding of the Global Gas Flaring Initiative, which began in October last year. The official launch of the Initiative took place at the Conference of Parties under United Nations Climate Convention (COP-7) held in Marrakech. There it was announced by my colleague, the Minister of the Environment Børge Brende, as well as by Rashad Kaldany, Director of the Oil, Gas and Chemicals Department of the World Bank.

The conference that we begin today is the first occasion to discuss what concrete activities the Initiative should focus on. I believe we are well placed to do so, given the preliminary stakeholder consultation that has been undertaken -- the results of which you have before you – and the distinguished and representative group of stakeholders gathered in this room.

Why do I consider this initiative so important?
Let me first consider this from a purely Norwegian perspective: Norway relies significantly on petroleum production. At the same time, we are strongly committed to sustainable development and environmental protection. Hence, it is vital that the petroleum industry continuously improves its performance relative to evolving sustainability criteria.

I would emphasise that petroleum extraction and sustainability are not contradictions in terms, sustainable development rather depends on petroleum supplies. But the reputation of the petroleum sector as a sustainable industry requires a steady focus on its environmental performance.

Over the past two decades, minimizing flaring on the Norwegian Continental Shelf has been a very important issue for the Norwegian Government. I think I can say that we successfully have applied a combination of regulation and fiscal measures, as well as dialogue and partnership with the oil industry in order to minimize flaring on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. To further reduce emissions from the petroleum sector on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, I believe the industry has to keep a steady effort in the future regarding research and development in the field of gas unitisation, as they already do today.

Norway's commitment to the Gas Flaring Reduction Initiative also goes beyond our national perspective. I believe the Initiative can contribute to more productive use of gas in areas where routine flaring cause major resource and environmental problems. For example, the current volume of gas flared in Africa (37 bcm in 2000) could, if used for electricity generation in efficient power plants, produce some 200 TWh, which is approximately half the current power consumption of the African continent. In addition, it represents over 16 Millions tons of carbon emissions.

I think the Initiative also is important for the petroleum industry itself. There is a need to demonstrate that the industry can be clean and socially responsible. It is in the interest of the petroleum industry that it is perceived as a vital bridge to a long-term sustainable energy future.

The industry, governments and other stakeholders can together, in my opinion, do a lot to strengthen the efforts to reduce venting and flaring of gas. The problems due to flaring seem to involve a relatively small number of countries and industrial actors, most of them being represented at this Conference. The Conference will therefore represent a first opportunity for key stakeholders to discuss how the Initiative can supplement and strengthen efforts to reduce flaring and venting of gas. I welcome you, and challenge you to work together to help find good solutions.