Natural gas venting and flaring rates by U.S. operators fell to an 18-year low in 2023, based on preliminary state level data gathered by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The rate of natural gas vented or flared has fallen to an estimated 0.5% of gross withdrawals in 2023 from 1.3% in 2018, EIA researchers said. EIA defined gross withdrawals as the full well stream volume of natural gas from both oil and gas wells, “including all natural gas plant liquids and non-hydrocarbon gasses after oil, lease condensate, and water have been removed.”
Venting releases methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas (GHG), directly into the atmosphere, while flaring converts methane into carbon dioxide, another climate-warming GHG. Operators typically flare or vent natural gas in response to emergencies or takeaway constraints.
The decline in venting and flaring rates occurred even as U.S. natural gas production rose over the same period to average a record 125.0 Bcf/d in 2023, the EIA team highlighted.
North Dakota, Wyoming, California and the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico reported the highest rates of vented or flared natural gas last year. “In 2023, we estimate operators in North Dakota flared 5.1% of gross withdrawals, and those in Wyoming vented and flared 4.4% of their gross withdrawals,” researchers said. “Combined, this rate amounts to 0.3 Bcf/d of the two states’ 6.5 Bcf/d of gross withdrawals, or about half of the volume of vented or flared natural gas in the United States reported in 2023 so far.”
EIA researchers highlighted North Dakota’s substantial decrease in flaring and venting rates over the last decade, which exceeded 35% at one point in 2014. Takeaway constraints for associated gas production from the oil-rich Bakken Shale have presented a constant challenge for operators in the state.
Global Flaring Rising
Global gas flaring volumes, meanwhile, rose by about 7% year/year to reach 148 billion cubic meters in 2023, the highest level since 2019, according to the World Bank’s 2024 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report.
The top nine flaring countries by volume – Russia, Iran, Iraq, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria and Mexico – are responsible for 75% of global gas flaring, but just 46% of global oil production, World Bank researchers said.
The U.S. gas flaring rate as a percentage of oil output rose to 2.04 cubic meter (cm) of natural gas per barrel of oil produced in 2023 from 1.84 cubic meters/barrel in 2022.
U.S. flaring volumes and intensity increases occurred mainly in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, the World Bank team said. “In the Permian, the increases were a result of the pressures put on the energy systems by unusually hot weather and ongoing maintenance of, and reliability issues with, midstream infrastructure. This led to an increase in overall flaring intensity in the United States of 11%, although the United States remains one of the countries with the lowest flaring intensities in the world.”
Researchers added, “The flaring increase experienced in 2023 points to the importance of integrated management of oil and associated gas production. During periods when the operational capacity of gas collection and transportation infrastructure is reduced, non-routine flaring can quickly accumulate.”
The flaring and venting data come amid efforts by the Biden administration to aggressively curb GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy announced that applications are open for $850 million in federal funding for projects to help monitor, measure, quantify and reduce oil and gas methane emissions.
The funding from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 “will specifically help small oil and natural gas operators reduce methane emissions and transition to available and innovative methane emissions reduction technologies, while also supporting partnerships that improve emissions measurement and provide accurate, transparent data to impacted communities,” EPA officials said.
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, praised the grants.
“I’ve always said that innovation, not elimination, is key to reducing emissions — and this type of program to deploy the leading technologies we have to reduce methane emissions is crucial to being able to do so in a way that isn’t punitive toward our hardworking and much-needed oil and gas industry,” Manchin said.
“This funding will support businesses and communities in West Virginia and across the country to continue America’s ability to produce energy cleaner than anywhere else in the world. And while I have been disappointed in the delay in getting this funding out and called on them to move more quickly, I am glad to see it finally getting out the door to begin making a difference.”
