STANDARD

REVIEW/SURVEY PAPER
ON

THE EFFECTS OF GAS

FLARING

BY
 Introduction
 What is gas flaring
 Difference between flaring and venting
 Effects of gas flaring
 Health implications
 Environmental implications
 Economic loss
 Conclusion
 Recommendations
OBJECTIVES:
 To know what gas flaring is all about.
 How gas flares affect the environment and
humans.
 The adverse effect on the economy.
 Regulating effective rules and implementation
of the incentive policies in order to reduce
the gas losses, regulating the custom tariffs,
construction of the required sub structures,
using the technologies from the developed
countries in the oil extraction process
AIMS:
 To stop the abrupt death of human, improve
productivity and increase the economy.
The impact of gas flaring is of local and global concern.
Gas flaring is one of the most challenging energy and
environmental problems facing the world today whether
regionally or globally.
It is a multi-billion dollar waste, a local environmental
catastrophe and a global energy and environmental problem
which has persisted for decades.
Gas has been flared since the beginning of the search for oil
despite the acute energy poverty faced by developing
countries and legislative efforts to reduce gas flaring it is
still a major cause of human and environmental health issues
and releases vast amounts of CO2 and pollutant gases into
the atmosphere.
 Natural gas, like crude oil and coal, is a mixture of
hydrocarbon compounds which are multiple
combinations of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The
principal components of natural gas are methane and
ethane with varying amounts of heavier hydrocarbons
including propane, butane and pentane. Methane is a
light hydrocarbon.
 Like oil, natural gas formed deep in the earth as ancient marine
life was deposited and decomposed over millions of years in
reservoir environments. Depending on the reservoir, gas occurs
in two principal forms: associated gas and non-associated gas.
 Associated gas occurs in conjunction with crude oil reservoirs
— either dissolved in the oil or occurring separately in the same
reservoir. Associated gas often is re-injected into the
producing well to either raise the pressure to get more oil out
of the well, or hold the gas in the reservoir until a distribution
system can be developed to move the gas to market.
 Non-associated gas occurs in gas-only reservoirs separate from
crude oil. The majority of US natural gas production is non-
associated gas.
Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas and petroleum
hydrocarbons in flare stacks by upstream oil companies in oil
fields during operations. Gas flaring is the singular and most
common source of global warming and contributes to emissions
of carbon monoxide, nitrogen (II) oxide and methane which have
the propensity of causing environmental pollution and ecological
disturbances or destruction.
 When crude oil is extracted from onshore and offshore
oil wells it brings with it raw natural gas to the surface
where natural gas transportation, pipelines and
infrastructure are lacking, this gas is instead burned off
or flared as a waste product as this is the cheapest
option, particularly when gas prices are low and fines
are not collected by National regulatory bodies.
The option to release gas to the atmosphere by flaring and venting
is an essential practice in oil and gas production, primarily for safety reasons.

 Flaring is the controlled burning of natural gas produced in association

with oil in the course of routine oil and gas production operations.

 Venting is the controlled release of gases into the atmosphere in the course
of oil and gas production operations
The natural gas extracted from the oil wells is found in two different forms:
(1) Solution Gas;
(2) The gas which is in contact with the oil but separated from that
(Associated Gas).
Associated gas should be separated from the oil, in order to obtain pure and
stable oil.
Dissolved gas in the oil is the same as the potential energy for the tanks and
reserves; so If possible, it should be prevented from emission.
 VENTING: The venting method is one of the discharge methods of
the associated gases. This method is some kind of gas dispersion
into the atmosphere directly and without burning or flaring of gas
(Marland et al., 2008). The venting phenomenon is not a visible one,
because the gas will enter into the atmosphere without burning or
combustion. But with regard to the air pressure and the pressure of
gas fields during this dispersion, this process can make a lot of
noises (Farina, 2010).

 FLARING: The Flaring method is another alternative discharge

method of the associated gases. The flaring process is controlled
burning of natural gases in oil and gas production process. The
flares are high chimneys in which, the gases are burnt and are from
the necessary equipments in oil wells and refineries.
Advantages of flaring:
 The flares can prevent fires,

 It prevent explosions or

 hurting workers.

The disadvantages of flaring are:

 Environmental damage

 Air pollutions, especially greenhouse gases (CO2, CO, NO and

NO2).
 Noises and odor results from the combustion

 Light that comes from the flaring process.

 NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FLARING AND VENTING:
Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas that is associated with crude oil when
it is pumped up from the ground. In petroleum-producing areas where
insufficient investment was made in infrastructure to utilize natural gas, flaring
is employed to dispose of this associated gas.

The acidic rain,

 Global warming,

 Air pollution,

 Water pollution and

 destruction of Ozone Layer, are some of environmental results of venting and

flaring processes.

it is not easy to measure to which extent this process affects the

environment. The effects of flaring process are different from place to place
and from field to field.
 Health effects of gas flares
The hazardous air pollutants emitted from gas flaring have been
shown to impact human health. These include oxides of Nitrogen,
Carbon and Sulphur (NO2, CO2, CO, SO2), particulate matter,
hydrocarbons and ash, photochemical oxidants, and hydrogen
sulphide (H2S).
These pollutants are associated with a variety of adverse health
impacts, including cancer, neurological, reproductive and
developmental effects. Deformities in children, lung damage and
skin problems have also been reported.
1. Adverse Effects
The implication of gas flaring on human health are all
related to the exposure of those hazardous air pollutants
emitted during incomplete combustion of gas flare. These
pollutants are associated with a variety of adverse health
impacts, including cancer, neurological, reproductive and
developmental effects. Deformities in children, lung
damage and skin problems have also been reported.
2. Haematological Effects
Hydrocarbon compounds are known to cause some
adverse changes in hematological parameters. These
changes affect blood and blood-forming cells negatively.
And could give rise to anemia (aplastic), pancytopenia
and leukemia.
Environmental effects of gas flares
The extraction of oil has released vast quantities of
liquid pollutants into the environment and
damaging the region’s ecosystem.
Gas flares have been linked to acidification of rain
and waterways through the emissions of large
quantities of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
into local areas which combine with atmospheric
moisture to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid.
Acidification of waterways and rainfall damages
vegetation, insect and animal life.
1. Pollution
Drilling mud and oil sometimes find their way to the streams, surface waters and
land thus making them neither unfit for consumption nor habitable by man or
animal. The economic and environmental ramifications of this high level of gas
flaring are serious because this process is a significant waste of potential fuel
which is simultaneously polluting water, air, and soil in the environment.

2. Climate Change
Gas flaring contributes to climate change, which has serious implications for both
Nigeria and the rest of the world. The burning of fossil fuel, mainly coal, oil and
gas-greenhouse gases-has led to warming up the world and is projected to get
much, much worse during the course of the 21st century according to the
intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC).

3. Acid Rain
The primary causes of acid rain are emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NO) which combine with atmospheric moisture to form sulfuric
acid and nitric acid respectively.
Smaller flaring and venting volumes are typically estimated by first
measuring the gas-oil ratio in the crude oil stream and then inferring
the amount of gas flared or vented from the measured amount of oil
produced. Larger volume sites may use orifice plates or other
measurement devices. Battery operators are not currently required to
report the composition of gas being flared or vented on an on-going
basis. Thus, there is no direct way to determine the composition of
solution gas flared. All oil fields contain associated gas although in
varying quantities. In analogous to the way bubbles appear when the
cap is removed from a bottle of carbonated drink, so the associated
gas is released when oil is brought up from the deep rock strata in
which it is found. A major difficulty in managing flaring and venting
is identifying exactly how much gas is coming from the various
sources that are contributing to the overall volume flared and
vented. The proportion of associated gas to oil (Gas Oil Ratio) can
vary significantly between oil fields.
In spite of the present and clear danger therein and the
ever increasing growth of environmental activism all over
the world, natural gas can be used for the operation of
fleets of industrial equipments, plants, machineries,
vehicles and cars that use diesel and petrol for
transportation at the national and international level.
A report by the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF) in 2012
found that oil companies often do not comply in paying fines and when
they do are still paying the old penalty of N10 per 1000 standard cubic feet
flared.

The Task Force also found out that the Department of Petroleum
Resources, DPR, is unable to independently track and measure gas
volumes produced and flared and depends largely on information provided
by the operators.

The report stated that in November 2012 no penalties for gas flaring had
been paid for that year. Details of fines paid for gas flaring during 2013
and 2014 are not available at the time of writing.
The experiences of developed countries such as Norway,
England, Canada and United States in the field of
reducing the amount of flaring process, reflects the
determinant and important role of government in this issues.
These countries by;
 Regulating the effective rules,
 Reconstruction of oil fields,
 Construction of proper infrastructures,
 Active involvement of private sector in planning and
implementation of projects and financial incentives,
 Results in proper fields in order to reduce the losses of
associated gases.
These difficulties faced by local communities from gas
flares are a sufficient justification for ending gas flaring
practice. Government should as a matter of urgency, make
stringent laws and take drastic action against defaulting
companies not just by payment of fines. Fines for
defaulting companies should be so exorbitant so as to
deter them. Furthermore, the gas can be processed and
produced into cooking/domestic gas. Environmentalists
and human right activists should continue in their quest to
end this act.
Recommended: -
 Government and other relevant stakeholders should encourage small
industries that will make use of the associated gases e.g. methane and
natural gas liquids for various purposes as stated above. This can be
achieved by establishing NGL extraction plants. Also industries such as
the power generating company, fertilizer Company, aluminum and steel
plants and other small industries can be encouraged to use gas as their
major source of fuel.
 Government should ensure that its plan to raise domestic consumption
of gas and eliminate flaring in the country by 2008 should still be
enforced despite missing the target. Companies that do not meet the
deadline should be made to pay much higher fines.
 Government should encourage independent ownership of natural gas
distribution systems that will purchase natural gas from Natural Gas
Company’s at various city gates and distribute the gas through
pipelines for sale to domestic and industrial consumers in a specified
area. Also gas could be distributed as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
using tube trailers to users who may not be within easy reach or close
enough to the existing gas facilities.
 The use of gas should be encouraged as an energy source in the home and
industries as it will go a along way not only to reduce gas flaring but also
solve the problems of deforestation.
 Existing Technology that is being used over the world should be looked
into such as the gas to liquid conversion technology, mason power
generation plant e.t.c.
 Allowances should be made in fiscal and gas pricing policies and in
operating agreements to ensure the price is right for the consumer and the
supplier. This will therefore allow investments to flourish, i.e. harnessing
flared gas should be made an economic proposition.
 Oil companies should include gas collection facilities to all fields and
installation of pipeline network that will link the gas station to process
industries for industrial utilization of gas.
 Oil companies should also try and re-inject gas back into the ground where
technically possible, and should selectively close oil wells that produce
high proportions of gas. E.g in depleted or aquifer reservoirs. The
associated gas can be re-injected into the producing well to either raise the
pressure to get more oil out of the well, or hold the gas in the reservoir until
a distribution system can be developed to move the gas to market.