For the first time, Alberta’s oil and gas industry has exceeded the province’s own regulatory limit for natural gas flaring.
In that report, the AER said it “expects flaring to continue to increase” in the future, even as the regulations themselves aim to have the oil and gas sector “continue to reduce” the volume of flare gas released. But flaring isn’t harmless, either. While the combustion process involved in flaring reduces the amount of methane released significantly, flaring still releases a variety of by-products and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, according to oil and gas data provider Enverus.
She said these alternatives include the installation of a vapour recovery unit, which can be used to capture flare gases and redirect them back into production for use as fuel. He said while reducing flaring is important, reducing overall methane emissions from the oil and gas sector remains the bigger goal.