SEEING THE LIGHT
The Railroad Commission, after years of rubber stamping flaring permits, is considering rules to rein in the controversial practice in Texas oil fields.
The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas in the state, has taken another step toward adopting a series of industry recommendations aimed at reducing flaring, a practice in which excess natural gas is burned at wells.
Commissioners last week approved publishing draft changes to policies that govern flaring at oil and natural gas wells. Flaring is often necessary in remote areas where there are no pipelines to move natural gas to market or for safety when equipment breaks down and natural gas cannot be shipped.
Under the agency’s rules, an oil well that does not have a pipeline connection can flare natural gas for 10 days after being placed into production. To flare natural gas beyond that, operators must request a Railroad Commission permit, which, if approved, is good for up to six months and can be renewed for good cause.
Commissioners are considering a matrix of proposals from the industry-funded Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition that would cut the number of days flaring can occur before companies must seek a permit, which requires a hearing. In their permit requests to the agency, operators will now be required to provide more detail about the well and why flaring is being requested.
“Now is the opportune time to implement meaningful recommendations to reduce flaring before oil and gas production climbs back to previous highs,” Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian said.
Controversial practice
Flaring has become an increasingly controversial practice as concerns grow about climate change and the pollutants released into the atmosphere. Flaring has been particularly prevalent in the Permian Basin, the center of the nation’s oil output, where vast quantities of natural gas are produced as a byproduct of oil drilling.
With natural gas prices low and pipeline capacity limited, many companies have just burned off the gas as waste to focus on the more lucrative product, oil. The industry, however, has become sensitive to criticisms over flaring.
Both companies and industry trade groups have launched efforts to reduce flaring and the release of methane, the main component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas.
As part of the process for tightening flaring rules, the Railroad Commission has opened a 30-day public comment period to discuss the issue before the changes are enacted.
The Railroad Commission has come under fire for its laissezfaire attitude toward flaring. Oil companies operating in the Permian Basin of West Texas burned and wasted a record $750 million worth of natural gas in 2018, according to a recent report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a nonprofit that researches and analyzes financial issues related to energy.
A new reality
Another recent study tied the flaring in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas to increased incidences of premature births in nearby communities.
“Industry is quickly moving to a reality where zero routine flaring is the expected operational standard,” said Colin Leyden with the Austin office of the Environmental Defense Fund. “The commission needs to commit to ending routine flaring by 2025, define interim targets, and stop granting long-term flaring exemptions.”
The proposed rule changes come as the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting downturn in economic growth and energy consumption have reduced oil and gas production and with it, flaring.
Texas wells produced 735 billion cubic feet of natural gas in May, a 13 percent drop compared with the 842 billion cubic feet produced in June 2019, according to the Railroad Commission. Oil companies flared 3.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas in May, an 82 percent drop compared with the 19 billion cubic feet burned in June 2019.
Nearly two-thirds of the decrease in the rate of flaring happened between February and May, according to the Railroad Commission.
Cyrus Reed with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club said the proposed changes improve data and record keeping, but do little to crack down on methane emissions.
“Better data and documentation is a good thing, but the commission should listen to companies, the public and legislators calling on a much bolder approach to actually reduce pollution that is impacting communities right here in Texas,” Reed said.