U.S. Energy Information Administration said recently that U.S. oil companies vented and flared a record amount of natural gas in 2018. Industry companies vented or flared 1.28 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day during 2018, the EIA said Dec. 6. At the current market price of $2.41 per million British thermal units, according to Houston Chronicle, that’s about “$1.1 billion worth of natural gas burned off or wasted per year.” The Chronicle added, “Natural gas is a byproduct of drilling for oil, which is a more valuable product… Oil companies that don’t have their wells connected to natural gas pipelines either release into the atmosphere or burn off at site.”
Wells in Texas accounted for 51 percent of flaring and venting while North Dakota accounted for 31 percent. Vented and flared natural gas increased to 1.25 percent of overall production in 2018 compared to 0.84 percent in 2017.