Natural gas flaring is the **controlled combustion of volatile hydrocarbons** (hydrocarbons in a gas phase) that are released as a byproduct of oil production. [The practice originated in the 1800s](https://www.crusoeenergy.com/blog/61dxWzIIlsGcCOmSsK2jE/crusoe-blog-minimizing-the-harm-of-methane-emissions-through-flare-reduction)as a safety precaution to avoid the accumulation of combustible gasses at ground level where sparks could create a fire or explosion. Flaring’s use steadily expanded globally **wherever oil is produced** in places without sufficient or timely natural gas transportation infrastructure such as pipelines, gas processing plants, compressor stations and related systems. Because the value of natural gas is minimal compared to that of oil, if the oil company doesn’t have access to a pipeline or if the gas volumes are too small to justify infrastructure investment, then it is **often cheapest and easiest for the oil producer to burn its associated gas in a flare.** According to the World Bank’s  [Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report](https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/1692f2ba2bd6408db82db9eb3894a789-0400072022/original/2022-Global-Gas-Flaring-Tracker-Report.pdf), **144 billion cubic meters of natural gas was flared in 2021**. That much gas could have generated **1,800 Terawatt hours (TWh) of energy** — or almost two-thirds of the European Union’s net domestic electricity generation. Instead, it was burned away with no discernible value. **The Global Impact of Flaring** But the biggest problem with flaring is actually t**he methane that is not fully combusted**. A recent study led by scientists at the University of Michigan and published in the journal Science found that in the U.S., [flares only effectively destroyed 91.1% of methane](https://www.crusoeenergy.com/blog/61dxWzIIlsGcCOmSsK2jE/crusoe-blog-minimizing-the-harm-of-methane-emissions-through-flare-reduction), with the rest escaping into the atmosphere. This finding, based on surveys of more than 300 flares across the United States, indicates that the oil industry is producing **nearly five times more methane emissions from flaring than prior EPA estimates**, which have long-assumed a 98% combustion efficiency for flares. over a 20-year timeframe, methane is over **80x more potent** than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, meaning the escaped methane significantly contributes to climate change, especially over the short-term period most relevant to mid-century climate goals and pledges. The good news is that “if we fix flaring issues, the payoff is huge: the equivalent of removing three million cars from the roads,” according to a University of Michigan [article.](https://news.engin.umich.edu/2022/09/flaring-allows-more-methane-into-the-atmosphere-than-we-thought/) Pledges to reduce methane consumption, which the IEA says is responsible for _around 30% of the rise in global temperatures_ since the industrial revolution. At COP27, the United States and European Union announced that more than 150 governments have now signed on to the Global Methane Pledge — about 50 more than when the initiative was introduced last year. More than 50 countries have also adopted methane action plans or are working to develop one. The goal is to take collective action to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030. ![[Pasted image 20240326000222.png]] Ref: [[Crusoe]]