Why do oil companies flare natural gas?

Fossil fuel companies choose to burn natural gas instead of capturing and selling it for a variety of safety and economic reasons. Most commonly, oil fields have a gas glut and insufficient pipeline capacity to move it to refineries and markets.

Is flaring natural gas Illegal?

Current Government Regulations Government regulations for natural gas flaring and venting vary widely from country to country. Even within the US, state regulations vary from flaring friendly to bans on many types of flaring.

Why do they flare oil wells?

At oil and gas extraction sites, gas flares are similarly used for a variety of startup, maintenance, testing, safety, and emergency purposes. In a practice known as production flaring, they may also be used to dispose of large amounts of unwanted associated petroleum gas, possibly throughout the life of an oil well.

Is gas flaring bad for the environment?

Gas flaring introduces toxic pollutants such as sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, which can lead to environmental problems such as acid rain, as well as the generation of greenhouse gases which contribute to global climate change (Obanijesu et al.

Why is flaring bad?

But flaring releases carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, where it traps the sun’s heat, driving climate change. Venting directly emits methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas in the shorter term.

Why do oil wells burn gas?

Oil companies burn off natural gas for several reasons: sometimes to prevent a dangerous buildup of methane at a drilling site, but more often because the companies do not have the equipment or the financial incentive to capture and sell it.

Is flaring illegal?

But venting mainly emits methane, which contributes to global warming and atmospheric ozone formation. Venting from flare stacks is illegal, since the flare is considered a waste treatment facility, but the practice apparently has increased over time.

Is flaring illegal in Texas?

State regulations allow for unpermitted flaring in some cases, including releases from storage tanks, in the first 10 days after a well’s completion, or during equipment maintenance, construction or repair, a spokesperson for the state’s oil and gas regulator, the Railroad Commission of Texas (TRC), told Reuters in …

Who is the largest natural gas pipeline company?

Kinder Morgan operates the largest gas pipeline system in North America, transporting 40\% of all the gas consumed in the U.S. Its pipelines connect to every major supply basin and demand center.

Who is the largest natural gas producer in the world?

the United States
In 2018, the United States was the world’s largest natural gas producer in the world, producing 863 billion cubic meters. Russia was the second largest natural gas producer, with its 2018 production amounting to nearly 725.5 billion cubic meters.

Why do refineries flare gas?

Why does the refinery need flares? Occasionally as part of the refinery process, more fuel gas (e.g., propane, butane) is produced than needed by the plants. The flare’s function is to eliminate this excess process gas by burning it off rather than venting potentially damaging hydro- carbons to the atmosphere.