In 2023, for the first time, Alberta’s oil and gas industry exceeded the province’s regulatory limit for natural gas flaring. Oil companies burned approximately 754 million cubic meters of natural gas last year, while the provincial limit is set at 670 million cubic meters per year.
Radio-Canada with The Canadian Press
This is what reveals The Canadian Presswhich conducted a count using data from the Alberta Energy Regulatory Agency (AER).
L’AER declined to comment on the results, referring questions about possible penalties or other actions to the provincial government.
A report on oil and gas emissions published by theAER nearly three years ago, however, shows that flaring volumes in Alberta have increased since 2016 and are approaching the regulatory limit in 2022.
In this report, the agency wrote that it expects[ait] flaring continues to increase
in the future, although the regulations themselves aim to ensure that the oil and gas sector continues to reduce
this practice.
What is flaring?
Flaring involves burning excess natural gas associated with oil production.
Natural gas is a byproduct that rises to the surface when companies drill oil wells. If gas volumes are low and there are no pipelines nearby to transport the gas, companies often choose, for economic reasons, to dispose of it by flaring it.
Flaring can also be used for safety reasons, to reduce sudden increases in pressure at drilling sites.
Companies also use it to reduce degassing, the direct emission of unburned methane into the atmosphere from an oil or gas installation.
From an environmental point of view, flaring is considered preferable to venting. Methane released by ventilation is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, with even greater heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide.
Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production is a stated priority of the federal and provincial governments.
Methane emissions from oil and gas production in Alberta are estimated to have been reduced by about 45% between 2014 and 2022, according to theAER.
Still a harmful practice
But flaring is not harmless. According to oil and gas data provider Enverus, while the combustion process involved in flaring significantly reduces the amount of methane released, flaring still releases a variety of byproducts and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide.
The practice also produces soot, which negatively impacts air quality and can pose a risk to human health, says Amanda Bryant, senior oil and gas analyst at the Pembina Institute.
Flaring as a form of mitigation only replaces one set of problems with another set of problems.
What alternatives?
There is also no reason for the industry to exceed the limits, when there are other solutions
maintains Ms. Bryant.
She said these solutions include the installation of a vapor recovery unit, which can be used to capture gases from flaring and redirect them to production for use as fuel.
Other solutions include compressing natural gas and trucking it short distances for use as off-site fuel, or converting it to electrical power using small generators.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers declined to comment on the increase in industry flaring volumes.
Responding to the industry exceeding the authorized threshold, Ryan Fournier, press secretary to Rebecca Schulz, provincial environment minister, said theAER asked the 20 largest operators to develop detailed plans to reduce flaring at their sites.
We are also reviewing Alberta’s flaring policies, first established in 2002, to determine if any updates are needed.
Global pressure
Worldwide, oil and gas producers are under increasing pressure to reduce flaring and gas venting.
The U.S. Department of Energy indicates that these two practices represent significant challenges
for operators and regulators, who must work together to reduce oil and gas emissions.
The World Bank describes the practice of flaring as waste and pollution
and identified the need to reduce flaring volumes globally as an urgent issue.
In Canada, the update of a draft regulation on methane stipulates that any flaring that does not take place for safety reasons must be supported by a technical study demonstrating that there are no other solutions . The proposed regulations aim to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas by 2030, bringing them to at least 75% of 2012 levels.
Amanda Bryant said Canada needs not only strong policy, but also strong implementation, to ensure its oil and gas sector stays up to date with global efforts to reduce flaring.
