Preliminary analysis by Rystad Energy, which has been monitoring levels of natural gas flaring in Permian Basin since 2017, shows that flaring and venting in Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico has reached an all-time high. Rystad said flaring and venting reached an average of 750 MMcfd in 2019Q3. Previous quarterly estimates suggested that gas flaring in Permian averaged 600 to 650 MMcfd during 9 months from 2018Q4 through 2019Q2.
Artem Abramov, head of shale research for Rystad, told Oil & Gas Journal, “Oil production in the Permian Basin is growing at an accelerated pace again, and we observe high, sustained levels of flaring and venting of associated gas in the basin… The most recent increase in flaring is predominately driven by the Delaware Texas portion of the basin.” Rystad said several operators have reduced their flaring intensity in the past year.
The Journal added, “The Permian Basin has experienced a vast increase in natural gas flaring and venting at the wellhead in the recent years, driven by a combination of higher activity levels, more production from areas with less developed gas-gathering infrastructure, and basin-wide takeaway capacity bottlenecks.”