Page 14 - NorthAmOil Week 04 2023

NorthAmOil ENERGY TRANSITION NorthAmOil

ExxonMobil ends routine

flaring in Permian Basin

PERMIAN BASIN EXXONMOBIL has reportedly halted routine until February 13. It is due to finalise the new
flaring of natural gas in the Permian Basin. Flar- rule by the end of this year.
ing is the practice of burning off excess gas from ExxonMobil told Reuters that it would cease
drill sites. routine flaring at 700 sites in the Permian Basin
The super-major also said it would push for and end routine flaring globally by 2030. In order
stronger regulations so that rivals do the same, to achieve this, the company has installed acous-
company officials told Reuters in an interview. tic sensors, optical gas imaging cameras and
Routine flaring recently made up 44% of extra pipelines and said it was expanding tech-
total flaring in the Permian, according to a 2021 nology so that it could close down operations ExxonMobil
report from Rystad Energy. quickly and remotely if needed.
“It levels the playing field,” ExxonMobil’s chief ExxonMobil also said it had achieved a flar- also said it had
environmental scientist, Matt Kolesar, told Reu- ing intensity of 0.4% at the end of 2022 in the
ters. “We need strong regulations so it doesn’t Permian. achieved a flaring
matter who owns the facility”, or where they Most of the super-major’s shale operations in
operate globally. the US are located in the New Mexico portion of intensity of
Reducing flaring from gas production can the Permian. New Mexico, unlike Texas, limits 0.4% at the end
save money as well as reduce greenhouse gas gas flaring.
(GHG) emissions. Hub prices and the funda- Flaring remains an extensive problem despite of 2022 in the
mental costs of gathering and processing mean recent efforts to curb it, including in the Permian
that that gas at the wellhead is valuable, accord- and Bakken regions. According to the Interna- Permian.
ing to Rystad. tional Energy Agency (IEA), as much as 143bn
The achievement comes as ExxonMobil – cubic metres of natural gas was flared in 2021
the US’ most prolific oil and gas producer – faces globally – roughly equivalent to the total vol-
lawsuits accusing it of knowingly contributing to ume of gas imported into Germany, France and
climate change. At the same time, the super-ma- the Netherlands. This was before imports from
jor is seeking to slash its own GHG emissions. Russia were reduced following the invasion of
The administration of US President Joe Biden Ukraine.
is cracking down on emissions of methane, the This level of flaring resulted in the direct
most potent GHG, including from flaring. The release of 270mn tonnes of carbon dioxide
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is (CO2) and nearly 8mn tonnes of methane into
taking public comments on a new methane rule the atmosphere, according to the IEA.™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 26•January•2023