Follow us:
Subscribe to our newsletter

logo

  • News
  • Projects
  • Business and Finance
  • Innovation
  • Products and Services
  • Events
  • Online Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home
  • News
  • Projects
  • Business and Finance
  • Innovation
  • Products and Services
  • Events
  • Online Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Quotes by TradingView

Share of gas flared in Permian falls to record low levels

15 Jan, 2021
103
Image: Permian Basin gas flare.


The share of gross gas output that is flared at the wellhead in the US’ prolific Permian Basin has plummeted to a modern Shale-era record low, a new Rystad Energy report has outlined.

According to Rystad, analysis of preliminary data has suggested that just 1.6 per cent of the basin’s gas production was flared in the fourth quarter of 2020. The absolute amount of the flared gas likely averaged at around 390 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) in the last three months of the year.

The basin’s wellhead flaring intensity declined to 1.6 per cent, down from 1.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2020.

New Mexico’s Delaware North was the only major sub-basin which saw a sequential increase in flaring in the fourth quarter, but it is also the region with the lowest flaring intensity among the play’s major sub-basins. It is also currently the one with the most significant activity levels.

Rystad highlights that Delaware East is the only region where flaring intensity remains above 2.5 per cent, with Delaware West largely tracking the overall basin’s trend in the second half of last year.

Midland North and Midland East both posted a wellhead flaring intensity of 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Alexandre Ramos Peon, vice president at Rystad’s shale research team, said: “One needs to go back to early 2012 to see flaring levels that low. But back then, shale activity was just starting to pick up. As reporting standards nine years ago were not as reliable, flaring could have been a bit higher than what we see in the data, so it is safe to assert that wellhead flaring has never been this low in the Permian in the shale era.”

Assuming perfect combustion, or 100 per cent carbon dioxide (CO2) and no methane, Rystad Energy calculates wellhead flaring CO2 intensity per barrel of oil produced for the Permian Basin.

While a modest increase, from 4.4 to 4.6 kg CO2 per barrel of oil, was recorded between September and October, Rystad states that wellhead flaring CO2 intensity in the basin remains below 5 kg CO2 per barrel – a level which has not been seen since 2011.

According to the company, a small increase in emission intensity is possible in the first quarter of this year as oil production stabilises, while flaring finally begins to reflect the increase in fracking activity.

“While we do expect most operators to exhibit little to no correlation between activity levels and wellhead flaring trends now, there are still some smaller producers that operate under the legacy model and tend to flare gas on new completions if gathering infrastructure capacity lags drilling and completion (D&C) work,” Rystad said.

“Most of the large Permian producers remain committed to their flaring intensity goals and have not demonstrated any sudden uptick, based on the latest data. As of the second half of last year, of the 45 largest gas producers in the Permian Basin, 20 exhibit a flaring intensity of 1.2 per cent and below and 13 are in the 1.3-2.2 per cent range. The remaining 12, with a higher flaring intensity, represent a mix of private producers and companies which initiated large completions during the same time period, and which were put on production recently.”

While some operators were already at a very low flaring intensity level in 2019, Rystad added that some operators showed significant improvements between the second half of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020.

“We observe a clear structural shift in the industry’s attitude toward their operations’ environmental aspects, which establishes a good foundation for responsible development in 2021-2022,” the company said.

“SM, Ovintiv, Sable, Discovery, Capitan, Diamondback, Parsley, including Jagged Peak, Hunt, Primexx, BTA, DoublePoint, Surge, Rosehill, Marathon, BP, Luxe and Endeavor are among the examples of companies that have achieved the most systematic and sizeable reduction in flaring intensity between the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020, and the first half and second half of last year.”

Related Articles

Woodside and BHP

To be ship shape Australia’s new fleet must be geared for gas

US shale production expected to stay robust, according to GlobalData

Surat Gas Project

Arrow Energy fined for breaches to land access framework

8th Annual IoT in Oil & Gas Conference

Comments

Leave a comment Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

all news all projects

Latest Posts

  • Latest News
  • Latest Projects
16 Jun

Microfossils provide clues about Australia’s petroleum potential

15 Jun

AEMO makes unprecedented decision to suspend energy market

15 Jun

Wage rises to be felt, but lack of skilled workers a bigger issue

15 Jun

Sanctions weaken oil and gas construction pipeline in Eastern Europe

15 Jun

WA-designed offshore inspection system pushes frontier of robotics

17 Jun

Esso Australia starts technical tender for Bass Strait decommissioning

17 Jun

Study to check feasibility of turning Torrens Island into a hydrogen hub

17 Jun

AXP energy boosts production with low-cost well re-completion in the US

15 Jun

bp to lead and operate WA renewables and green hydrogen energy hub

15 Jun

Partners to develop offshore renewable green hydrogen production

Online Magazine

    Current Cover
  • Login
  • Subscribe

Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter or print magazine

Our Titles

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
© Sage Media Group 2022 All Rights Reserved.
×
Authorization
  • Registration
 This feature has been disabled
 This feature has been disabled until further notice, however you may still register
×
Registration
  • Autorization
Register
* All fields required