The fossil fuel industry pumped an extra 389m tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere last year by needlessly flaring gas, a World Bank report has found, in an “enormous waste” of fuel that heats the planet by about as much as the country of France.
Flaring is a way to get rid of gases such as methane that arise when pumping oil out of the ground. While it can sometimes keep workers safe by relieving buildups of pressure, the practice is routine in many countries because it is often cheaper to burn gas than to capture, transport, process and sell it.
Global gas flaring rose for a second year in a row to reach its highest level since 2007, the report found, despite growing concerns about energy security and climate breakdown.
I never got why they don’t attach these flares to some boilers to generate extra electricity or heat homes in the winter. I mean I know that creates problems of their own and it would still do nothing about the CO2 pollution, but it makes a little more sense than simply burning it.
The bottom line is that there is no profitable way to use this gas. You can capture it, pipe it out, then refine it, but you will lose money. You can burn it onsite to generate electricity, but your investment in generators and maintenance will never pay off.
The only way to get oil and gas companies to do the right thing is by government regulation.
Source: my father worked for a startup trying to develop this type of technology in the bakken oilfield. The startup had strong initial investment, but it failed after only a few years.