The process provides information that helps a company decide whether to invest capital in pipelines and well site equipment. Once the newly completed well is connected to that infrastructure, flaring occurs only for safety and maintenance reasons. Producing gas wells are equipped with a flare stack and a sweet gas pilot flame, to facilitate safe flaring when the well site is depressurized for this occasional maintenance. Third, flaring has also been an industry practice to dispose of solution gas that is a product of an oil well, which may include H2S dissolved in the oil. The solution gas is separated from the oil and burned off in a flare stack.
Industry Challenges One challenge with flaring is the combustion efficiency of each flare.
Original efficiencies had not been realized. AEC and other industry leaders are continuing efforts that began in 1997, in consultation with government, regulatory agencies and environmental groups to further enhance industry operations for not only a greater flaring efficiency, but also a reduction in flaring itself. The Clean Air Strategic Alliance was the coalition of groups mentioned above that developed target quantities and time frames for industry to reduce solution gas flaring. The CASA-inspired agreement, which was announced in June 1998, called for flaring reduction targets based on 1996 levels. Coincident with the negotiation of the CASA agreement, AEC was researching and applying new proven technologies and adapting operating procedures that helped the Company to achieve reductions that qualified it to reach the 2003 targents in 1999.