These large differences may be explained by reporting errors and by several flare operations that are simply exempted from volume reporting. But we suspect that there is an even more systemic, mundane explanation: venting — the direct release of raw gas to the atmosphere. Venting gas is allowed only for a small set of operations in the industry if it can be done safely.
It is usually prohibited because it emits hydrocarbons, including air toxics such as benzene that can cause cancer, birth defects or other serious health problems.
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. That heat radiation is converted into flaring volumes, using total reported volumes to agencies nationwide. But if a much smaller volume is actually flared, with some of the gas not combusted but vented, the satellite data would overestimate flaring.
The Obama administration adopted a new rule in to curb methane leaks and reduce flaring on public and Indian lands. Now the Trump administration is trying to undo this action, albeit with limited success.
Meanwhile, a new study commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund and involving investors concludes that there are feasible and cost-effective ways for oil and gas companies to minimize flaring even without much regulation.
Nevertheless, given that much of the industry has already spent a decade without widely employing such best-practice measures, I expect that oil and gas companies are likely to keep wasting and polluting for the foreseeable future unless government agencies impose tighter regulations. There are however several alternative ways to address the routine gas flaring problem.
Oil operators can re-inject associated gas back into the ground or build the infrastructure needed to capture, store, and transport the associated gas to market. Meanwhile, governments can put in place effective regulations and policies to incentivize and encourage gas flaring reduction.
Oil production is often located in remote and inaccessible places. Image: Nico Traut. Developments in small-scale gas utilization technologies have also greatly improved the potential for associated gas use in recent years. However, not all such technologies are economical, and much depends on fuel and end-product prices. Small electricity generation plants, truck-mounted, liquefied natural gas plants, and integrated compressed natural gas systems are often viable alternatives to flaring — but they can be expensive and even loss-making for an operator.
Encouragingly, while oil production has increased by roughly 19 percent since , the amount of associated gas flared has decreased by 14 percent. This means that the oil industry is making progress because we are seeing a gradual decoupling of a long-standing correlation between oil production and gas flaring. Many oil field operators who flare associated gas, are making the investments necessary to reduce flaring. Many have also made the commitment to end routine flaring.
In , the World Bank and the UN Secretary-General launched the Zero Routine Flaring by ZRF initiative , which commits governments and oil companies to not routinely flare gas in any new oil field development and to end existing legacy routine flaring as soon as possible and no later than To date, 80 governments and companies have made the ZRF commitment, collectively accounting for about 60 percent of global flaring.
More information about gas flaring and the global efforts to reduce it can be found in the Zero Routine Flaring by FAQ. Flaring or burning of the gas significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions that would be created by simply venting unburnt gas.
The Petroleum and Gas Production and Safety Act restricts the flaring and venting of gas unless a company can demonstrate that it is not safe, commercially feasible or technically practical to use the gas. If you have a concern regarding flaring at a gas well or gas processing plants, you can contact the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy to investigate.
For more information on flaring and the management of the gas industry in Queensland, please view the CSG health and safety information for landholders page. Gas Flaring Flaring or burning of natural gas significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions that would be created by simply venting unburnt gas.
Although in large quantities it might be economically viable to employ the use of flare gas in heat and electricity production, in some cases flare gas may not be a cost-effective decision to attempt such energy recycling.
A popular but controversial way of eliminating unwanted gas is by flaring. Gas flaring is a major environmental concern facing the world today as it generates a significant amount of greenhouse gases which contribute to the overall burden of global warming.
In this article, we will consider how gas flaring is done and alternatives like flare gas recovery systems which can be applied to minimize or eliminate this practice. Gas flaring refers to the combustion of associated gas generated during various processes including oil and gas recovery, CBM production , petrochemical process and landfill gas extraction. The typical flare used in the oil and gas industry is composed of a boom or stack which collects the unwanted gases to be flared.
At its tip is an air-assist mechanism which combines free air with the generated gases being burned to improve combustion efficiency. Some gases require oxidation due to low heating value and are combusted using a thermal oxidizer.
Flare gas mixtures differ depending on the generating source as chemical compositions vary across different industrial processes. For example, natural gas is composed mostly of methane, some ethane and variable quantities of other hydrocarbons and other gases. The methane content of landfill gas is lower with comparably higher amounts of carbon dioxide. Overall, there is no standard composition as natural gas or landfill gas derives from two different operational sites will vary slightly.
0コメント