Gas flaring refers to the combustion of gases generated during various processes including the oil and gas recovery process, coal bed methane (CBM), landfill gas extraction, and petrochemical process.
Gas flaring is a major Environmental concern the World is facing today as it generates a significant amount of greenhouse gases which contribute to the overall burden of global warming. At oil production sights thousands of gas flares around the globe which is approximately 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, causing 300 million tons of CO2 to be emitted from the atmosphere. How to reduce the impact of flaring or flaring of gas? There are organizations working to bring together the world leaders of oil and gas producers.
“Zero Routine Flaring By 2030” the initiative introduced by the world bank, brings together government, development institutions and oil companies who recognize the flaring situations is an unsustainable process of natural gas. In this policy, the government will provide a legal, regulatory, investment support, and operating environment that will encourage new investment and development of infrastructure needed to deliver these gases to the market. Oil companies will apply substantial utilization or conversation of the field associated with gas without routine flaring. Companies with existing oil fields with routine flaring will seek to implement economically viable solutions to eliminate flaring by the deadline of 2030. Whereas development institutes that endorse this initiative will facilitate and implement and encourage upstream investment in infrastructure and other measures, particularly in their client countries.
“Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership” (GGFR) of World Bank is a multi-donor Trust. Government, Institutes, and Oil companies will come together and help in research development techniques in the reduction of gas flaring. The partnership will help in identifying many technical solutions and barriers related to flaring reduction by developing country-specific flaring reduction programs, advancing flare measurements and reporting, raising awareness.
Will tax on gas flaring will reduce gas flaring? Some of the leading countries in oil and gas production have come up with the implementation of the tax on flaring gas with the intent of a high tax rate that will contribute to reducing the flaring. Vikki Goodwin Democratic Member of Texas house of Representatives has said that “flaring harms the environment, wastes viable energy product & threatens the health of communities near oil & gas production facilities. House-Bill1494, of Texas, proposed a 25% tax on the marketable value of methane flared from oil and gas production.
High tax will not only reduce the flaring of natural gas but also bring revenue to the state which will be redirected in the development of education, roads, infrastructure she added.
Besides all these efforts, there are some industries in the US that are against tax, but if they want to preserve the role of natural gas in the energy transition, they must act quickly to curb flaring and methane release. There should be more laws and regulations related to the flaring of gas. Every country should do more awareness campaigns and promote no more gas flaring.