Flaring Gas by the Billions

Recently it was in the news North Dakota flares about $100 million of natural gas each month. Other gas operations also flare gas, under heavy protest. Methane should be burned when disgarded, because it’s a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, but the best thing is of course not to waste it. We make this page to list all the incidents of this practice, to show the insanity of gas operations, their destructive and long term damaging effects.

The headline ‘US fracking industry ‘wasting $1bn a year in gas flaring’ is either correct, and then it has to be added to the $1,2 Billion already flared in North Dakota, or incorrect, in which case the total still has to be more than $1,2 Billion flared in ND.

"As we speak, this country flares close to $2.2bn every year and this, for me, is criminal. "

In other places flaring also takes place. Production value worth $2.2 Billion is flared in Nigeria each year.  

Globally the volume of flaring in 2011 is estimated (from analysing satelite images) to be 140 Billion Cubic Meters (source)

Why not flare?

Any time one sees a flare, this is a considerable waste of energy. It is also damaging to the environment and public health, because of the CO2 emissions and half burned hydrocarbons, as well as soot. This energy could also be used to drive a compressor and make LNG out of it, store it in tanks and ship it to some production center every now and then. Flaring is unnecessary if the investment in this compression and storage capacity can be made. However the companies that drill for gas do not care about the waste as long as they can keep the business going. There is no incentive not to flare. 

Why flare

  • Because the gas comes out of a refining process at low volumes, irregularly
  • No economical interest in using compressior and logistics resources
  • Gas is of bad quality, no interest in cleaning it.
  • Abandoned well, low volume.

So the reasons we see flaring stem from the operational considerations of the gas/fracking companies. The public effects of the decision to flare is not considered, only probably, whether it is legal. The legal system however is on the side of the fossil fuel industry, or easily persuaded by settlements in any case of damage/harm. We can’t bring a case against these companies because they kill every living thing on the planet, but we can if someone gets nausea because of fossil fuel toxicity.

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