Country
Assessment
Rule 903(c) requires operators to use reduced emission completion practices and enclose all flowback vessels to limit venting during completion operations. Flaring is allowed only with prior approval of the COGCC through a gas capture plan. Flaring is also allowed for a period not exceeding 24 hours during completion operations or for safety reasons during an upset condition. Rule 903(d) states that flaring or venting is prohibited during production operations unless one of the following exceptions applies: Flaring or venting lasting less than 24 hours is allowed during an upset condition. Operators must maintain records of the date, cause, duration, and estimated volume of gas vented or flared during each upset condition. Venting is allowed during active and required maintenance if it is in line with AQCC requirements, as long as the operator uses best practices to minimize venting during the maintenance or repair activity. Flaring lasting less than 24 hours can be allowed for safety considerations in the event of liquids unloading. For production evaluation and productivity testing purposes, flaring is allowed for up to 60 days, provided an approved gas capture plan is in place (see the next section). Flaring is allowed during wellhead pressure tests. If the gas release had not been authorized, Rule 912 requires the operator to notify the director of the COGCC within 24 hours and then produce additional data on the incident within 10 days of the event. In the case of intended flaring of hydrogen sulfide, Rule 612 of the Safety and Facility Operations Regulations 600 Series, 2021 , requires the operator to submit an air monitoring plan to the director of the COGCC before flaring.
An operator must receive approval from the BSEE regional supervisor to flare or vent natural gas, except in the circumstances specified above. Following the recommendations of the 2010 GAO report, the BSEE tightened the approval process, as communicated in NTL No. 2012-N04. This tightening led to a significant decrease in flare or vent approvals. NTL 2020-N04 supersedes previous NTLs on flaring and venting requests and states that the BSEE may approve flaring or venting on a case-by-case basis, with the following exceptions: The exception is in the national interest, such as when a major hurricane causes infrastructure damage. Bureau Interim Directive 2015-G070 requires that top BSEE management grant this exception. The operator claims that production from the well completion would likely be permanently lost if the well were to be shut in. According to Bureau Interim Directive 2015-G070, the BSEE’s resource conservation personnel must analyze necessary data from wells to confirm all such claims. The operator claims that short-term flaring or venting would likely yield a smaller volume of lost natural gas than if the facility were shut in and restarted later. According to Bureau Interim Directive 2015-G070, the BSEE’s resource conservation personnel must analyze necessary data from wells to confirm all such claims. According to Title 30 CFR § 250.1161, approval for an extended period is possible but cannot exceed one year. The BSEE may approve requests for extended periods of flaring if the operator can demonstrate actions that will eliminate flaring and venting or demonstrates that lease economics do not support investment in eliminating flaring or venting. According to the proposed EPA NSPS rule, flaring would be allowed only to eliminate venting of associated gas and only if the operator can demonstrate, as certified by a qualified third party, that it cannot access the market or use the associated gas in beneficial ways due to technical or safety reasons.
Flaring and venting are authorized under Subparts 3179.101 through 3179.104 of Title 43, which cover initial production testing, subsequent well tests, emergencies, and downhole well maintenance and liquids unloading. The proposed rule expands on these definitions. According to NTL-4A , prior authorization from a BLM regional supervisor is required if emergency flaring is expected to last longer than 24 hours. If a longer period of production testing is necessary, state regulators, if applicable, must authorize it, and the BLM regional supervisor must ratify this authorization. These requirements are essentially the same in the proposed rule. Gas from a gas well cannot be flared or vented except in narrow circumstances such as downhole well maintenance and liquids unloading that may cause gas flow to stop (limited to 24 hours according to the conditions outlined in Section 3179.204). Except when it falls under the “unavoidably lost” category (see the previous section), associated gas from oil wells cannot be flared or vented without written approval from a BLM regional supervisor.
According to North Dakota Century Code Section 38-08-06.4 , after the first year of production, flaring must cease. The operator can cap the well, connect it to a gathering system, increase the use of associated gas, or use the gas in any other beneficial action approved by the NDIC. Operators may apply for a flaring exemption if the connection of a well to a natural gas gathering line is economically infeasible. DAQ has an independent permit application for flares associated with air quality and the control of pollutants for oil or gas production facilities classified as a major stationary source or a major modification.