Solution Gas Flaring and Venting
The ERCB reports flared and vented volumes of gas for a variety of upstream oil and gas industry sources, such as well tests, gas plants, gas gathering systems, and transmission lines, as well as oil, bitumen, and gas batteries. In 2008, further gains were made in flare reduction. However, vented volumes of solution gas rose for the third year in a row.
Solution gas is gas that is separated from oil and bitumen production, which represents the largest source of flaring and venting in Alberta. The volume of solution gas produced in 2008 was 14 948 million m3 (530 564 MMcf), a decrease of 7.3 per cent from 2007. This decrease in production of solution gas can be attributed to lower gas production from conventional oil.
In 2008, volumes of solution gas flared decreased, while vented volumes modestly increased. As in 2007, an important consideration is that solution gas conservation is primarily economics based. While solution gas conservation remains a top priority for the ERCB, economic factors such as the lower overall price of gas and increasing cost of services and equipment led to the reduction in solution gas conservation.
The volume of solution gas flared and vented declined from the 1996 level of 1808 million m3 (63 849 MMcf) to 750 million m3 (26 620 MMcf) in 2008. A 95.1 per cent solution gas conservation rate was achieved in 2008, a decrease of 0.7 per cent from 2007.
The flaring of solution gas decreased significantly from 2007 to 306 million m3 (10 861 MMcf) in 2008, a 5.8 per cent drop. This represents a reduction of 77.2 per cent from the 1996 flaring baseline 1340 million m3 (47 322 MMcf).
The venting of solution gas increased from 2007 to 417 million m3 (14 801 MMcf) in 2008, which represents a reduction of 40.7 per cent from the 2000 venting baseline of 704 million m3 (24 862 MMcf).
The ERCB is concerned about the year-over-year increase in solution gas venting. The ERCB is working with the Clean Air Strategic Alliance's (CASA) Flaring and Venting Project Team to examine other ways of conserving gas besides the economics-based test. Any results of this team's work that leads to reductions in solution gas venting may be incorporated into future regulation.
For more information on upstream petroleum industry flaring and venting, see ST60B-2009: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring and Venting Report.
