Last year, American companies flared and vented the lowest volume of natural gas in almost two decades. The U.S. Energy Information Administration preliminary estimate for 2023 reports volumes of vented or flared gas declined to .5 percent of gross withdrawals, demonstrating how industry best practices have worked to keep natural gas in the pipes and not going up the stack.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
The Best v. The Rest
The news that American companies are reducing rates of venting and flaring natural gas comes as the World Bank’s recent report shows that oil companies around the world have increased their flaring intensity 7 percent from 2022. The World Bank’s report calls for effective partnership and creation of solutions in order to monetize associated gas and substantially reduce gas flaring and flaring intensity.
U.S. industry has been ahead of the collaboration curve, partnering with the Department of Energy and participating in voluntary measures like the Environmental Partnership, an initiative representing nearly 70 percent of U.S. onshore oil and gas operations, crucial to driving methane reductions across the supply chain. The Environmental Partnership reported that member companies cut flaring nearly in half in 2021, followed by an additional 14 percent decline in flaring in 2022.
In fact, flaring across the shale patch declined despite record production over the last decade, and the nation’s top oil and gas producing basins have seen methane emissions decline.
Bottom Line: American companies are demonstrating their commitment to continue reducing flaring, and capturing and moving to market as much natural gas as possible. Their voluntary efforts have made the United States the world leader in reducing flaring, even while they have increased their production output to meet the global demand for less emissions-intensive natural gas resources.
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