The image to the left is an actual Texas processing plant. No wonder the land is uninhabitable.
...Now, Adam Brandt, (click here) assistant professor of energy resources engineering in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences at Stanford, and his colleagues have performed a first global analysis comparing emissions associated with oil production techniques – a step toward developing policies that could reduce those emissions. They published their work Aug. 30 in Science.
The group found that the burning of unwanted gas associated with oil production – called flaring – remains the most carbon-intensive part of producing oil. Brandt spoke with Stanford Report about the group’s findings and strategies for reducing flaring.
Oil and gas are generally produced together. If there are nearby gas pipelines, then power plants, factories, businesses and homes can consume the gas. However, if you’re very far offshore or can’t get the gas to market, there’s often no economically feasible outlet for the gas. In this case, companies want to get rid of the gas, so they often burn – or flare – it.
Thankfully, there is some value to the gas, so there can be some savings associated with stopping flaring. I think setting the expectation that the gas will be managed properly is the role of the regulatory environment. There are some efforts underway to try to tackle this – the World Bank has a big effort called the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, where companies have banded together to try to set flaring targets, so hopefully this will start to decline....
The petroleum industry is about the most primitive form of energy on Earth. The industry never does research, they just punch a hole in the ground and reap whatever comes up from being sealed within the Earth.
They will never conduct research to end methane leaks. So, when young legislators are writing their bills in Congress realize the industry is crude. The industry has an attitude. The petroleum industry believes the world can't exist without them so they are ENTITLED to carry out drilling and extraction with any means possible.
The petroleum industry doesn't care about the world they service, they only care about their profits. They have been immune from regulation for the most part until President Obama came along and they receive subsidies. The subsidies need to end.
