Lower 48 Natural Gas Venting, Flaring Reached Record High in 2019, EIA Says

Natural gas venting and flaring in the United States reached an all-time high of 1.48 Bcf/d in 2019, with North Dakota and Texas accounting for 85% of the total, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday.

Vented/flared gas accounted for 1.3% of gross gas withdrawals nationwide, also a record, EIA researchers said.

“As crude oil production has outpaced the construction of necessary infrastructure to transport the natural gas extracted during oil production, or associated natural gas, it has been increasingly vented and flared,” the EIA team said. 

Texas accounted for 47% and North Dakota accounted for 38% of total domestic vented and flared gas last year.

“State agencies in Texas and North Dakota are working with oil producers to limit the need for...