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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

ERCB REPORT: TOTAL FLARING AND VENTING OF SOLUTION GAS DROPS 2.4% IN 2007

Calgary, Alberta (July 2, 2008) According to a new report released by the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), solution gas flaring in Alberta has been reduced by 76 per cent since 1996, and solution gas venting has been reduced by 50.7 per cent since 2000.  Of the 16,127 million cubic metres of solution gas produced in 2007, 672 million cubic metres were flared and vented compared to 689 units in 2006, a 2.4% decrease.

Those reductions have kept approximately 8.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂ equivalent) from being released into the atmosphere since 1996. 
 
The ERCB’s ST60B-2008: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring and Venting Report also indicates that in 2007, the upstream oil and gas industry conserved 95.8 per cent of all solution gas produced in Alberta last year for use or sale, rather than flaring and venting it. This continues Alberta’s record as one of the global leaders in conservation and reduced flaring.

Flaring of solution gas dropped 14.9% in 2007. In total, 325 million cubic metres of solution gas were flared in 2007 compared to 382 million cubic metres in 2006.

Venting of solution gas increased 15.4% in 2007. In total, 347 million cubic metres of solution gas were vented in 2007 compared to 307 million cubic metres in 2006. This increase is primarily attributed to an increase in the number of new crude bitumen wells that on an individual basis produce small volumes of solution gas. These smaller volumes of produced solution gas are neither sufficient to keep a flare stack lit nor meet the ERCB’s test for conservation given the prevailing market conditions. Although the volume of solution gas vented per facility is small, the growth in the number of crude bitumen operations across Alberta in 2007 was sufficient to increase the overall amount of solution gas vented in Alberta in 2007.

The Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) Flaring/Venting Project Team, which consists of environmental groups, the petroleum industry, the ERCB, Alberta Energy, Alberta Environment and other government agencies, is working on a number of regulatory initiatives to reduce solution gas venting in crude bitumen production operations and other facilities across the oil and gas sector in 2008.   

According to the World Bank, global flaring of solution gas adds about 350 million tons of CO₂ in annual emissions worldwide. The World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership supports governments and companies in their efforts to reduce the flaring and venting of gas associated with the extraction of crude oil. In 2007, the success of the Board's flaring and venting reduction efforts was featured in a BBC-produced documentary entitled 'Billion Dollar Bonfire'. The documentary detailed the World Bank's efforts to reduce solution gas flaring and venting from the petroleum industry throughout the world.

Flaring is the burning of natural gas that cannot be conserved.  Venting is the release of natural gas into the atmosphere.  Solution gas is natural gas produced in association with crude oil and bitumen production.

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This news release is available on the ERCB website at www.ercb.ca

For more information, please contact:
Davis Sheremata, ERCB Communications, Ph: 403-297-2252         
Email: davis.sheremata@ercb.ca

NR 2008-15