Russia burns off vast quantities of natural gas

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Satellite images show that for the last two months, Russia has been burning off natural gas at the Portovaya plant near the Finnish border. Experts say the gas would previously have been exported to Germany. Scientists are concerned about the large volumes of carbon dioxide and soot it is creating, which could exacerbate the melting of Arctic ice. Some critics believe that there could be technical challenges in dealing with the large volumes of gas that were being supplied to the Nordstream pipeline. Analysis by Rystad Energy indicates that around 4.34 million cubic metres of gas are being burned by the flare every day. That's up to $10m (£8.4m) of gas per day. Newsday hears from Senior Vice President of Rystad Energy, Sindre Knutsson. (Photo: This photo was taken by Finnish citizen Ari Laine on 24 July at a distance of around 23 miles (38km) from the Portovaya facility. Credit: Ari Lane.)