Flaring at oil wells is sure sign of wasted natural gas
The Texas Railroad Commission should no longer routinely permit destruction of our state’s precious natural gas. In West Texas alone, gas burned as waste at the wellhead rose from 18 million cubic feet a day in 2011 to an estimated 650 million cubic feet a day this summer, an amount sufficient to power a large city. A scientist at Texas A&M believes the volume is even greater, based on analysis of satellite imagery. When viewed at night from space, gas flares make West Texas glow brightly.
During the last decade the Texas Railroad Commission has granted more than 20,000 exceptions to its long-established rule prohibiting the flaring of gas from oil wells, a rule adopted after public debate in the 1930s and 1940s. At that time some oil producers sought to avoid waiting for pipeline connections, while other state leaders — including engineers — argued that flaring diminished the long-term value of the state’s resources and undermined incentives for investments in pipelines and recycling of gas into reservoirs. In 1947 the Railroad Commission resolved the issue by adopting a rule against the flaring of gas from oil wells.
History has vindicated that decision. The need to commercialize gas spurred investment in a national network of pipelines. Gas feedstock gave rise to a vast Gulf Coast petrochemical complex. In recent years our nation’s air quality has improved, and carbon emissions have been reduced, by substitution of gas and renewables for coal as the nation’s principal source of electrical power generation. Revenues from the state’s severance tax and royalties on marketed gas have also played a major role in financing Texas’ public and higher education.
Other developed, oil-producing nations — such as Canada, Norway and the U.K. — impose strict limits on gas flaring. For decades flaring continued principally in nations with less public accountability — Russia, Iraq, Iran and Nigeria. Because of permits to flare, the U.S. has now joined that dubious group.
Routine permission to flare runs counter to the oil industry’s long-term interest. Large shareholders increasingly expect corporations to adopt best practices for environmental stewardship. Scientists point to gas flares as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Scott Sheffield, a CEO who has helped lead the revival of the U.S. oil production, refers to routine flaring as a “black eye” for the industry.
Most industry leaders recognize the need for better coordination of drilling and transportation, and reduction of gas lost during well testing and cleanout. Compared to many others, Houstonbased EOG — one of the largest and most profitable U.S. oil producers — flares a lower percentage of gas. Reasonable regulation creates a level playing field for those who minimize flaring and encourages investment in gas transportation.
Producers and state officials describe the Permian basin as a globally significant ,long-term resource. It should be managed accordingly. Aggressive quarterly production goals, which tend to depress oil prices, should not justify routine flaring.
On Aug. 6, the Railroad Commission in a 2-1 decision, permitted a producer to flare gas with a piping connection, simply to avoid transportation costs. That runs counter to our state constitution, which makes “preservation and conservation of natural resources” a “public right and duty,” subject to state regulation.
Seventy years ago, when the Texas Supreme Court upheld the rule against flaring of gas from oil wells, the state had a business-oriented culture, as it still does. But then, as now, the court noted that our constitutional mandate “to prevent waste of natural resources” would be meaningless if resources were conserved only when it “was financially profitable.”