A small increase in natural gas flaring worldwide was detected in 2011, the most recent year for which statistics are compiled, and that increase concerns officials at a World Bank-led global partnership focused on the oilfield issue.

The 2011 increase of 2 billion cubic meters (bcm, 70 Bcf) of flared gas globally is a “warning sign,” said the Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) partnership. Officials said Tuesday that the reversal was attributable principally to hydrocarbon production in Russia and from oil drilling in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale.

Last fall, GGFR estimated that countries and companies that produce oil could reduce flaring of associated natural gas by 30% by 2017 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 26, 2012). The United States and Mexico reportedly were progressing on flaring reduction as new gas-handling infrastructure was being built out in the most active shale oil plays.

A global reduction of the size GGFR called for would cut flaring from 140 bcm in 2011 to 100 bcm by the end of 2017. That would represent a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions equivalent to removing 60 million cars from the road, GGFR said.

“A 30% cut in five years is a realistic goal,” said Rachel Kyte, the bank’s vice president for sustainable development.

Flaring continues to be a hot topic within the United States, particularly in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas (see Shale Daily, July 31; June 18; Dec. 27, 2012).

According to the Railroad Commission of Texas, the Lone Star state is already doing better than most states on the flaring issue. For example, only 0.6% of the production in Texas is being flared, compared to North Dakota, where 30% is being flared.

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple earlier this year signed into law a measure (HB 1134) offering tax breaks to oil/gas operators as an incentive to cut flaring of associated gas at the wellhead on oil wells. HB 1134 was effective July 1 (see Shale Daily, May 1). Since the bill took effect, Wyoming and North Dakota both stepped up statewide assessments of ways to cut down on flared gas volumes, but the economics for oil/gas operators in some cases are complicating those efforts (see Shale Daily, Aug. 19).

The point was reinforced by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s (OGCC) approval last month of Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s request to flare gas at five oil wells in the eastern part of the state for lack of pipeline takeaway infrastructure. Chesapeake determined that it was not economic to build a gathering pipeline system.

The continuing consternation over flared gas has created niche responses from industry, trying to maximize economic means of reigning in, and making more wellsite use of, associated gas supplies (see Shale Daily, June 12; May 20).

Satellite data reportedly revealed that flaring worldwide climbed from 138 bcm (4.87 Tcf) in 2010 to 140 bcm (4.9 Tcf) in 2011. The GGFR acknowledges that this is a relatively insignificant increase considering that global flaring numbers have tumbled 20% since 2005 (170 bcm, or 6 Tcf, to 140 bcm, or 4.9 Tcf), a decrease that amounted to eliminating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from about 16 million cars.

“The small increase underlines the importance for countries and companies to sustain and even accelerate efforts to reduce flaring of gas associated with oil production,” said GGFR Manager Bent Svensson. “It is a warning sign that major gains over the past few years could be lost if oil-producing countries and companies don’t step up their efforts.”

According to the data, the United States ranks fifth in the world with the largest contributions to flared gas. Russia is still first, followed by Nigeria, Iran and Iraq. The U.S. total in 2011 was 7.1 bcm (250 Bcf) of flared gas. The United States, Russia, Kazakhstan and Venezuela were the main contributors to the 2011 increase, the report said.

Flaring levels detected in 2011 included 360 million tons of GHG emissions. “Eliminating these annual emissions is the equivalent of taking some 70 million cars off the road,” said GGFR.

S. Vijay Iyer, who directs the World Bank’s sustainable energy department, said reducing gas flaring is positive for oil-producing countries and for operators because it improves efficiencies and curbs the impacts of GHG emissions. “Instead of wasting this valuable resource, we now need to develop gas markets and infrastructure so the associated gas can be utilized to generate electricity and cleaning cooking fuels,” Iyer said.

Tracking flares is made more difficult because of inconsistent data and “often under-reporting” by governments and companies, according to the report. As a result, the agency is cooperating with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to use more satellite data to improve reliability and consistency.