Why are There Fires in Oil Fields? 

Why are There Fires in Oil Fields? 

If you have driven by an oil field before, you might have seen fires popping up in the distance. These blazes can burn day and night and typically spout out of tall, pole-like structures. Commercial fires in Texas are common sights in an oil field.

But, what are these fires? Where do they come from? And, why are they burning in oil fields? 

Reasons for Fires in Oil Fields

The burning fires that you see in oil fields are called flares. They are brought about by gas flaring, or the process of burning the natural gas that comes with extracting oil. 

Flaring occurs because of several reasons, and we’ll discuss some of them below. 

Safety

Flaring is a practice that began in the very early years of oil production roughly more than 160 years ago. Today, flaring is still utilized by oil companies because it is a relatively safe process of disposing of the natural gas that comes from extracting oil. 

Safety is perhaps the no. 1 reason for flaring or burning gas from oil extraction. Oil companies have to deal with exceptionally high and changeable pressures during the extraction and processing of the oil and gas. So, any sudden or pronounced increase in pressure can trigger an explosion and a fire. 

In short, oil companies have to burn the excess gas to de-pressurize their equipment. It is a way for gas flaring operators to manage unpredictable and large pressure variations during the oil extraction process.

Industrial accidents

Because of the industry’s focus on safety and compliance with regulations, it is rare that natural gas related to oil extraction can cause fires. However, when ignited, these blazes can last for long periods of time because they can be difficult to contain and control.

Technical and economic challenges

At the end of the day, oil companies are businesses that want to earn a profit. So, they have to consider if capturing, transporting, processing, and selling the natural gas related to oil extraction is worth it. 

Two major deterrents to processing natural gas are logistics and the sheer amount of capital necessary to build the infrastructure to capture natural gas. 

Because of the nature of their business, oil companies face several challenges in logistics. First of all, oil fields are typically located in remote parts of the country. This means that access to the oil fields might prove difficult. 

Another issue oil firms face is the possibility that the oil field might not produce large or consistent volumes of natural gas. Or, oil production sites might be small and scattered across a location. 

In any case, the natural gas is wasted because it is just burned. The burning process also adds to pollution.

Admittedly, flaring is an inefficient way of disposing of gas that’s associated with extracting oil. However, alternatives to gas flaring, such as liquefied natural gas plants, small electricity generation plants, and integrated compressed natural gas systems, are most often expensive to implement. So, despite advancements in small-scale gas utilization technologies, flaring remains a cheap and safe option for oil firms. They often prefer this method over the huge investments necessary to capture, transport, process, and sell the natural gas.

The Environmental Impacts of Fires in Oil Fields

There is a huge amount of gas being burned in oil fields. According to The World Bank, thousands of flares at oil production sites all over the world burned around 148 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023 alone. If the natural gas was instead captured and put to use, that amount of natural gas could power the entire region of sub-Saharan Africa. 

In the U.S., the states with the most reported vented and flared natural gas are Wyoming, Texas, and North Dakota. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “North Dakota has had high rates of venting and flaring since 2006 because associated natural gas production in the Bakken region grew more quickly than natural gas production and processing facilities, as well as pipeline takeaway capacity.” 

The burning of natural gas in oil fields poses two main environmental issues: emissions of greenhouse gases and black carbon. 

CO2 and methane emissions

A major problem with fires in oil fields is the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In particular, gas flaring emits a significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that contributes to global warming. 

According to The World Bank: “Assuming a ‘typical’ associated gas composition, a flare combustion efficiency of 98% and a Global Warming Potential for methane of 28, each cubic meter of associated gas flared results in about 2.6 kilograms of CO2 equivalent emissions (CO2e), resulting in over 350 million tons of CO2equivalent emissions annually.” 

Aside from carbon dioxide, gas flaring also sometimes releases raw methane. According to the UN Environment Programme, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. In fact, about 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times is attributed to this dangerous greenhouse gas. And, it has only been increasing.

However, compared to carbon dioxide, methane has more of a near term or short to medium term impact. It only takes around 10 years or one decade for methane in the atmosphere to break down. In contrast, carbon dioxide can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. 

Black carbon pollution

Aside from the emission of greenhouse gases, fires or gas flares in oil fields also sometimes release black carbon into the atmosphere. Also known as soot, black carbon is a pollutant that is more commonly produced through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. 

While black carbon only remains in the atmosphere for just a few days or weeks, it still has a huge impact on the climate. In particular, black carbon emission is a major concern in the Arctic region. Experts believe that black carbon deposits in the region have resulted in the melting of snow and ice at a higher rate. 

According to research from the European Geosciences Union, gas flaring contributes to around 40% of the annual black carbon deposits in the Arctic. However, the exact amount of black carbon emissions depends on the composition of the natural gas and the specific conditions under which the gas is burned.

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