by Thomas Sullivan – Principal, Zephyr Environmental Corporation and Erik Woodward – SVP Engineering, ColdStream Energy
The Challenge: Regulatory restrictions on gas flaring and pipeline capacity constraints combine to impact production potential
Many states have increased their regulatory limits on flaring at oil and gas production facilities, and it is expected that the trend will continue. Recent examples, such as Colorado’s Reg 7 and the North Dakota Flare Capture rules, have resulted in production impacts and expenses to maintain operations. There are multiple measures that state and federal regulations use to limit gas flaring from oil and gas production facilities. These metrics may include mass of VOCs emitted, volume of gas flared, percentage of VOC recovered, and/or heat content of flared gas (Btu); various combinations may apply depending on location.
