News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SOLUTION GAS VENTING DOWN 18%, FLARING DOWN 9% IN 2004
EUB flaring and venting report shows record success in reducing emissions
Calgary, Alberta (September 23, 2005) In 2004 - a year featuring unprecedented levels of oilpatch activity the upstream oil and gas industry reduced flaring of solution gas by nine per cent and venting of solution gas into the atmosphere by 18 percent, according to a new report released today by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB).
According to the
ST60B-2005: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring and Venting Report, solution gas flaring in Alberta has been reduced by 72 per cent since 1996, and solution gas venting has been reduced by 49 per cent since 2000. Solution gas is natural gas that is produced in association with crude oil and bitumen production.
The reductions in solution gas flaring and venting came during a year when
a record 18,572 wells were drilled in Alberta, and the production of solution gas went up 1.3 per cent. Overall,
96% of all solution gas produced in Alberta was conserved for use or sale, rather than being flared and vented. This represents the highest level of solution gas conservation achieved in Alberta since the EUB introduced
Guide 60: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring Guide in 1999.
The success can be attributed to the cooperative efforts of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance (CASA) Flaring/Venting Project Team, the petroleum industry, and the EUB (the EUB is a member of CASA, whose work to reduce emissions was recently honoured with a 2005 Pollution Prevention Award from the Canada Council of Ministers of the Environment).
The EUB also continues to be an active participant in the development and progress of the World Bank's Global Flaring and Venting Voluntary Standard, which was supported in July by G8 leaders at the 2005 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. As in Alberta, the Standard requires that solution gas be conserved unless it is determined to be economically unviable and this economic test must be re-evaluated regularly. Similarly, any flaring or venting that cannot be eliminated will be reduced, as in the EUB's
Guide 60: Upstream Petroleum Industry Flaring Guide, which is currently being updated to help promote further reductions.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board ensures that the discovery, development and delivery of Alberta's resources and utilities services takes place in a manner that is fair, responsible, and in the public interest.
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For more information, please contact:
Davis Sheremata
EUB Communications
Phone: 403-297-2252
NR2005-28
