A new trend is emerging on oil and gas sites which concerns flares. This practice consists of burning the gas in long plumes of flame when it is less expensive than exploiting it. A very polluting practice that the sector is supposed to do without. He made the commitment, in any case. However, it turns out that he now prefers to hide this equipment, so that it is no longer visible to the piercing gaze of satellites.
2 mins
When it’s too expensive to take care of your gas, you might as well burn it. This is the reasoning that has pushed many oil and gas sites to equip themselves with flares, long plumes of flame that are impressive but highly polluting. The process emits a huge amount of carbon dioxide directly released into the atmosphere.
This is why satellites are used to locate these flares from space. Useful information to then put pressure on operators to stop using them. Antoine Rostand is the boss of Kayrros, a company which analyzes these images. “ These are satellites that pass at night in particular, and we can see the flames really well. And then, there is really a very strong desire to reduce gas flaring. There are a certain number of operators who do the work and others who clearly use new technologies, therefore hidden flares to be able to continue burning the gas without it being seen. »
A sort of cat and mouse game to the advantage, for the moment, of polluters. But the situation could well change. “ There are new satellites arriving, we will be able to detect CO2 breakdowns themselves and therefore we will still be able to detect these hidden flaring within a few years. », points out Antoine Rostand.
A priori control necessary. The international objective is to end flaring in 2030, but companies in the sector are clearly showing their reluctance to play the game.
Read alsoWhy is natural gas considered a “transition energy”?