Despite Their Promises, Giant Energy Companies Burn Away Vast Amounts of Natural Gas (original) (raw)
Climate|Despite Their Promises, Giant Energy Companies Burn Away Vast Amounts of Natural Gas
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/climate/natural-gas-flaring-exxon-bp.html
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
The “flaring” of natural gas at a facility near Pecos, Texas, recently. Video by Jessica Lutz for The New York Times
The “flaring” of natural gas at a facility near Pecos, Texas, recently. Video by Jessica Lutz for The New York TimesCredit...
- Oct. 16, 2019
Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter.
When leaders from Exxon Mobil and BP gathered last month with other fossil-fuel executives to declare they were serious about climate change, they cited progress in curbing an energy-wasting practice called flaring — the intentional burning of natural gas as companies drill faster than pipelines can move the energy away.
But in recent years, some of these same companies have significantly increased their flaring, as well as the venting of natural gas and other potent greenhouse gases directly into the atmosphere, according to data from the three largest shale-oil fields in the United States.
The practice has consequence for climate change because natural gas is a potent contributor to global warming. It also wastes vast amounts of energy: Last year in Texas, venting and flaring in the Permian Basin oil field alone consumed more natural gas than states like Arizona and South Carolina use in a year.
Exxon’s venting and flaring has surged since 2017 to record highs, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of gas produced, the numbers show. Exxon flared or vented 70 percent more gas in 2018 than it did the previous year, according to the data, bringing an end to several years of improvements.
Flaring and venting are legal under state laws, and oil companies acknowledge the practices are wasteful. Typically, venting or flaring occur because there aren’t pipelines close enough to a well to capture and transport the gas, or because gas prices are so low that it’s cheaper to discard the gas than to try to sell it. Venting can also occur during equipment breakdowns.
Since 2011, the period for which reliable numbers are available, Exxon has flared or vented more gas overall than any other operator in the three oil fields, which include the Eagle Ford and Permian basins in the Southwest, and the Bakken straddling the Canadian border. Companies often treat natural gas as a byproduct when drilling for oil, which is far more lucrative.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement