Flaring

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of a natural gas processing facility is one or more vivid red and white striped flare stacks. The gas is carried up to the top of the long flare pipe to a burner tip, where it is ignited by a pilot light or an automatic igniter. Gas is flared in this way when it cannot be economically processed or sold. With little demand for its natural gas, Turner Valley flared approximately 90% of its supply, an amount that today would be worth billions of dollars.

Even after the consequences of flaring began to be understood and efforts to slow the practice began, flaring continued for several reasons. The most significant of these has to do with the sour quality of much of Alberta’s gas. Before the technology to transform the toxic hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) into elemental sulfur became accessible, it

was flared to convert it into sulfur dioxide (SO₂), which can be lifted into the atmosphere and dispersed.

The practice of flaring remained useful even after Alberta became the largest producer of elemental sulfur in the world. Flaring may be used as a safety mechanism to burn off gas during unexpected interruptions in production or processing such as equipment failure. Test flaring is conducted during the drilling of new wells in order to analyze exactly what a well is producing and how it will need to be processed. Flaring can also be used to eliminate any solution gas, gas that is contained within crude oil, that can’t itself be recovered and processed. This occurs especially when the solution gas is too minimal to warrant building the infrastructure necessary to transport it.

In the years since indiscriminate flaring made Turner Valley a winter haven, the general public, government and industry have become more aware of its environmental effects, which could contribute to possible health risks as well as to climate change. If complete combustion occurs at the burner tip, only water vapour and carbon dioxide, considered a greenhouse gas, are emitted. Incomplete combustion, however, can release carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, sulfur compounds, and particulates such as soot and ash. As a general practice, flaring is criticized also for creating unpleasant odors and noise,

which negatively impact the quality of life for those in proximity.

Crucial to the reduction of flaring in Alberta has been a combination of research, technological development, industry initiative, public pressure and government regulation. Between 1996 and 2010, such efforts resulted in a decrease by eighty percent of the amount of gas flared. Alberta has received international commendation for its successes in reducing natural gas flaring and has worked with neighbours British Columbia and Saskatchewan to develop guidelines to reduce flaring in those provinces as well.