Data shows Alberta’s oil and gas sector exceeds 2023 flaring limit

CALGARY — For the first time, Alberta’s oil and gas industry has exceeded the legal limit for flaring natural gas.

Figures released by The Canadian Press of Alberta Energy Regulator show oil and gas companies in the province burned about 754 million cubic meters of natural gas last year, exceeding the annual provincial limit of 670 million cubic meters.

Flaring refers to the practice of burning excess natural gas associated with oil extraction. While this is better for the environment than other gas removal methods, it still releases harmful substances into the atmosphere.

AER declined to comment on the findings, referring questions about possible fines or other action to the provincial government. However, the regulator’s 2022 Oil and Gas Emissions Report shows that flaring volumes in Alberta have been increasing since 2016 and will approach the regulatory limit in 2022.

In that report, the AER said it “expects flaring to continue to increase” in the future, even though the regulations themselves are intended to encourage the oil and gas sector to “further reduce” the amount of gas released from flaring.

Natural gas is a byproduct that comes to the surface when drilling oil wells. If the amounts of gas are small and there are no pipelines nearby to transport it, companies often decide to neutralize it by burning it on flares for economic reasons.

Expansion may also occur for safety reasons to reduce a sudden increase in wellbore pressure.

Flaring volumes are increasing in part due to increasing oil production in Alberta. However, companies are increasingly turning to flaring to reduce venting, a term that refers to the direct release of unburned methane into the atmosphere from oil or gas facilities.

From an environmental perspective, flaring is considered better than venting. Methane released by ventilation is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, with even greater heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide.

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Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production is a priority for both the federal and provincial governments. In fact, methane emissions from oil and natural gas in Alberta are estimated to be reduced by about 45 per cent between 2014 and 2022, according to AER.

But flickering is not harmless either. Although the combustion process associated with flaring significantly reduces the amount of methane released, according to the oil and gas data provider, flaring still releases a variety of byproducts and greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

It also produces black soot, which negatively affects air quality and can pose a risk to human health, said Amanda Bryant, senior oil and gas analyst at clean energy think tank The Pembina Institute.

“Lightening as a form of mitigation simply replaces one set of problems with another set of problems,” Bryant said.

“There is also no reason for the industry to exceed the limits when alternatives are available.”

She said these alternatives include installing a vapor recovery unit, which can be used to capture flare gases and redirect them back to production for use as fuel.

Other alternatives include compressing natural gas and trucking it short distances for off-site use as a fuel, or converting the gas into electricity using small generators.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers declined to comment on the industry’s growing flaring volume.

In an emailed statement, Ryan Fournier, press secretary to Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz, said that because the industry exceeded the provincial limit, Alberta’s energy regulator has instructed 20 flaring operators to create detailed plans to reduce flaring at their locations.

He said that while reducing flaring is important, the bigger goal remains reducing overall methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.

“We are also now reviewing Alberta’s greenhouse gas policy, first introduced in 2002, to see if updates are needed,” Fournier said.

Pressure is growing on oil and gas producers around the world to reduce flaring and gas discharge.

The U.S. Department of Energy says both practices pose “significant challenges” for operators and regulators who must work together to lower oil and gas emissions.

The World Bank calls the practice of flaring “wasteful and polluting” and has identified the need to reduce flaring around the world as an urgent problem. The World Bank also highlighted recent scientific research that suggests that more methane may be released into the atmosphere during the flaring process than previously thought, suggesting that the greenhouse gas impact of flaring may be underestimated.

In Canada, the federal government’s updated draft methane regulations, which aim to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas by at least 75 per cent from 2012 levels by 2030, say that any flaring that will not be carried out for safety reasons, it will have to be supported by a technical examination, which proves that there are no other alternatives.

Bryant said Canada needs not only strong policy, but also strong enforcement to ensure that Canada’s oil and gas sector keeps pace with global efforts to reduce flaring.

However, Julia Yuan, a PhD student in the University of Calgary’s department of chemical and petroleum engineering, said that if increased flaring is a byproduct of lower greenhouse gas emissions and overall methane emissions from oil and gas extraction, it may be something society needs to address. accept it if necessary. .

“Maybe flaring isn’t such a bad alternative — at least at this point in time when we’re trying to do as much as we can (on climate change) as quickly as possible,” Yuan said.

“Because time is of the essence.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2024.

Amanda Stephenson, Canadian Press