Putting gas flaring on the back burner
Putting gas flaring on the back burner

Author: Ira Joseph, Global Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University

Most forms of natural gas consumption come at a price. Consumers pay to burn gas. Maybe it’s time for the producers to do the same. While a gas price is paid in the power, industrial, or residential/commercial sector, the one place burning gas does not come at a price is at the wellhead, where it is flared for either operational or commercial reasons. If gas is to be taken seriously as a bridge fuel for the energy transition, it can no longer be treated as a waste product in the production of crude oil or natural gas liquids (NGLs).