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Traditional macro data distort information on oil and gas exploitation and processing capacities and cannot track the movement of gas combustion. This study proposes a new way to retrieve those capacities and to explore changes in the trajectory of China's oil and gas exploitation and processing centres via gas flaring based on a combination of kernel clustering-kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and spatial methods. We use data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) between 2012 and 2016. Results show that the upstream centre of gravity of oil and gas exploitation and processing in China moved to the southwest and the downstream centre of gravity moved to the southeast. Results of Kernel clustering-KPCA show that production, processing and transportation of oil and gas production moved from inland areas to coastal ports. Results from spatial analysis show existence of the influence of inter-regional externalities on the development of oil and gas exploitation and processing. The new economic geography theory provides a theoretical framework to explain the spatial evolution of oil and gas exploration and processing. Empirical findings of the changing path of the oil and gas exploitation and processing centres of gravity and the kernel clustering-KPCA analysis provide a scientific basis for tracking the effectiveness of government environmental policy and for policymaking on mitigation of combustion gases. This novel application extends the utilisation of the VIIRS and can be applied globally for tracking dynamic changes in the centre of gravity of oil and gas exploration and processing. [Display omitted] • Oil and gas exploitation and processing capacities and gravity movement were retrieved. • Kernel clustering analysis was applied to oil and gas exploitation and processing. • The evidence provides insights for policies that reduce gas flaring emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associated gas flaring has been revealed as a significant contributor to the warming of the local climate of the communities where these flare stacks are located. Associated gas flaring has also been revealed as a major casual factor to the degradation of the environment, air pollution and consequent health effects of the inhabitants of these host communities. This study goes a step further to assess the economic benefit of total utilization of associated gas as an ante dote to these problems as it is been argued that flaring this gas is cheaper than total utilization. The research uses as its case study the Niger – Delta region of Nigeria a West African country with 1958- 2004 been the years under review. The study adopted the Cost – Benefit approach/ Method of analysis as well as relied on secondary face to face interview. Results from the study revealed that the economic benefit of total utilization of associated gas far outweighs the cost of flaring associated gas. Results from the study also reveal that if Nigeria had utilized the associated gas from crude oil exploitation from 1958 -2004; the country would be $32 billion richer. This is without the estimation of the multiplier effect of reinvesting these monies. The research further reveals that the country requires another Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant 1.4 times the capacity of the Bonny LNG plant to totally processthese associated gases for onward utilization. In the light of these revelations the study recommends a strategic legal framework for the formulation of an act for the operation and governance of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) be put in place by the government as this is a major bottleneck to the development of the sector. Also in the development of strategic plans and policy guidelines for the enactment of the act, the host communities should be in full participation. This is to ensure transparency and equity which will further result in total cooperation and compliance by all stakeholders. Furthermore, the study recommends a time frame be set for routine review of the plans and policy guidelines so as to update lapses for further and future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are emerging ubiquitous environmental pollutants with reported carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic potentials on living organisms and humans. The objective of this study was to assess the concentrations of PAHs in agricultural soils of Tsekelewu Community and environs (Egbema Kingdom) in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria impacted by gas flaring using gas chromatograph system Agilent 5890 Series 11 gas chromatograph equipped with Flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The results revealed that station 1 and 2 were fairly contaminated; with mean total PAH concentration of 236.40 µg/kg and 279.75 µg/kg respectively. Stations 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9 having mean total PAH concentration of 692.45µg/kg, 726.22 µg/kg, 739.82 µg/kg, 609.38 µg/kg, and 772.99 µg/kg were moderately contaminated. Heavy contamination was recorded in station 5 and station 8 with mean PAH concentrations of 1231.08µg/kg and 1224.33 µg/kg. The dominant PAHs in soil samples were benzo(a)anthracene, phananthrene and chrysene with benzo(a)anthracene having the highest concentration across all sample stations. The PAH concentration observed in this study is thus a serious cause for concern since soil contamination from gas flaring will likely continue. Measures that will attenuate PAHs concentrations in soil should be adopted as farmers are likely exposed by largely inhalation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiopulmonary functions can be influenced by chemicals from flared toxic gases and oil spillages. This study determined and compared the cardiopulmonary functions of six hundred apparently healthy primary school children (338 male and 262 female) aged 6 to 9years recruited from two communities. Three hundred of them were dwellers of Kegbara-Dere (an oil-spilled and gas-flared community) in Rivers State while the other 300 were recruited from Makoko (a rural-riverine community) in Lagos State. Their parents/guardian gave informed consent before their basic anthropometric parameters were obtained. Their cardiovascular and pulmonary parameters were also measured. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 21.0. The mean values of the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), Heart Rate (HR) and Rate Pressure Product (RPP) for the oil-spilled/gas-flared Niger-Delta and the rural-riverine Lagos Communities were 112.99±9.99mmHg and 111.12±9.27mmHg, 73.63±8.41mmHg and 74.05±6.85mmHg, 98.41±14.33bpm and 95.56±12.07bpm and 11187.45±2247.98mmHg.bpm and 10655.00±1832.86mmHg.bpm respectively. The mean values of the Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1), Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) were 1.02±0.26L and 1.25±0.23L, 1.10±0.26L and 1.34±0.25L and 1.58±0.49L/s and 2.24±0.61L/s. Independent t-test analysis showed statistically significant differences between the mean values of the SBP (p=0.017), HR (p=0.009), RPP (p=0.002), FEV1 (p=0.001), FVC (p=0.001) and PEFR (p=0.001) of the children from the two communities. Children living in the oil-spilled and gas-flared Niger-Delta community have a significantly higher cardiovascular parameters and a significantly lower Pulmonary functions when compared with those in the rural-riverine Lagos community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world today recognizes the significance of environmental sustainability to the development of nations. Hence, the role oil and gas industry plays in environmental degrading activities such as gas flaring is of global concern. This study presents material balance equations and predicts results for non-hydrocarbon emissions such as CO 2 , CO, NO, NO 2 , and SO 2 etc. from flaring (combustion) of 12 natural gas samples representing composition of natural gas of global origin. Gaseous emission estimates and pattern were modelled by coding material balance equations for six reaction types and combustion conditions with a computer program. On the average, anticipated gaseous emissions from flaring natural gas with an average annual global flaring rate 126 bcm per year (between 2000 and 2011) in million metric tonnes (mmt) are 560 mmt, 48 mmt, 91 mmt, 93 mmt and 50 mmt for CO 2 , CO, NO, NO 2 and SO 2 respectively. This model predicted gaseous emissions based on the possible individual combustion types and conditions anticipated in gas flaring operation. It will assist in the effort by environmental agencies and all concerned to track and measure the extent of environmental pollution caused by gas flaring operations in the oil and gas industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental initiatives play an important role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The "Zero Routine Flaring by 2030" (ZRF) Initiative, launched by the World Bank in 2015, has been widely echoed worldwide by major oil-producing governments, oil companies, and energy institutions. Based on the generalized synthetic control method, we use panel data covering 45 major oil-producing countries to conduct an empirical analysis of the gas flaring reduction effect within the ZRF Initiative from 1994 to 2021. In addition, we use the Multiphase difference-in-differences model to test the robustness results and analyze the impact mechanism. The results show the following: (1) The ZRF Initiative has a significant impact on reducing flaring in the endorsing countries, and the effect is particularly significant in developing countries. (2) In some developing countries, the ZRF Initiative could reduce domestic flaring through demonstration effects, and asset income in the oil industry can positively moderate the Initiative's flaring reduction effect. (3) The ZRF Initiative and the practical experiences of the participating countries provide valuable insights into the goal of zero routine flaring by 2030 for oil-producing countries. This paper provides a new perspective on the effectiveness of policy evaluation by the World Bank, and provides a diffusion mechanism for the policy implementation process. • Use satellite data to study changes in global gas flaring • The GSC method is adopted to investigate the effect of the ZRF Initiative on gas flaring reduction. • The ZRF Initiative had a significant flaring reduction effect on developing countries. • Explore the Demonstration effects and the moderating effects of asset income in the oil industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas flaring is a prominent source of VOCs, CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , PAH, NO X and soot (black carbon), all of which are important pollutants which interact, directly and indirectly, in the Earth’s climatic processes. Globally, over 130 billion cubic metres of gas are flared annually. We review the contribution of gas flaring to air pollution on local, regional and global scales, with special emphasis on black carbon (BC, “soot”). The temporal and spatial characteristics of gas flaring distinguishes it from mobile combustion sources (transport), while the open-flame nature of gas flaring distinguishes it from industrial point-sources; the high temperature, flame control, and spatial compactness distinguishes gas flaring from both biomass burning and domestic fuel-use. All of these distinguishing factors influence the quantity and characteristics of BC production from gas flaring, so that it is important to consider this source separately in emissions inventories and environmental field studies. Estimate of the yield of pollutants from gas flaring have, to date, paid little or no attention to the emission of BC with the assumption often being made that flaring produces a smokeless flame. In gas flares, soot yield is known to depend on a number of factors, and there is a need to develop emission estimates and modelling frameworks that take these factors into consideration. Hence, emission inventories, especially of the soot yield from gas flaring should give adequate consideration to the variation of fuel gas composition, and to combustion characteristics, which are strong determinants of the nature and quantity of pollutants emitted. The buoyant nature of gas flaring plume, often at temperatures in the range of 2000 K, coupled with the height of the stack enables some of the pollutants to escape further into the free troposphere aiding their long-range transport, which is often not well-captured by model studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flaring of associated petroleum gas is an age long environmental concern which remains unabated. Flaring of gas maybe a very efficient combustion process especially steam/air assisted flare and more economical than utilization in some oil fields. However, it has serious implications for the environment. This study considered different reaction types and operating conditions for gas flaring. Six combustion equations were generated using the mass balance concept with varying air and combustion efficiency. These equations were coded with a computer program using 12 natural gas samples of different chemical composition and origin to predict the pattern of emission species from gas flaring. The effect of key parameters on the emission output is also shown. CO 2 , CO, NO, NO 2 and SO 2 are the anticipated non-hydrocarbon emissions of environmental concern. Results show that the quantity and pattern of these chemical species depended on percentage excess/deficiency of stoichiometric air, natural gas type, reaction type, carbon mass content, impurities, combustion efficiency of the flare system etc. These emissions degrade the environment and human life, so knowing the emission types, pattern and flaring conditions that this study predicts is of paramount importance to governments, environmental agencies and the oil and gas industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a brief review of the global gas flaring and venting in oil industries including the emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases and the amount of energy resources wasted, the focus is on Iran as a major oil producing and the world's third largest gas flaring country. Gas flaring is also practiced in natural gas industries, petroleum refining and petrochemical plants, although the level of emission is very low compared with emissions from oil production. The historical emission of these gases globally and Iran specifically, geographic location of emission sources, composition of gases, environmental impacts of gas flaring and the current and future projects to mitigate emissions are evaluated and discussed. Emission factor, an indication of efficiency in oil production, varies widely among oil production sites around the world, from near zero to more than 50 standard cubic meters of flare gas per barrel of oil produced with an average value of about 5. Iran's emission factor has fluctuated from around 1 to more than 16 according to the data of 1980–2012 with higher emission factors for offshore oil production. Data also show an increasing trend during 2010–2012 which could be due to the several technical reasons in oil productions as well as economic sanctions imposed on Iran. In addition, there is a great amount of uncertainty and discrepancies among various data sources in the emission factors due to the lack of actual measurements of the volume and composition of flare gas and the uncertainties in the data sources. This requires regulatory measures, investment by oil companies and international collaboration. The economic and technological constraints in implementing or delaying the gas flare reduction projects are evaluated and addressed, with successful case studies and best practices reviewed. In particular, the techno-economic constraints in implementing gas flaring reduction projects caused by international sanctions on Iran are analyzed. It is shown that despite the great loss of energy resources due to gas flaring, its adverse impacts on the local and global environment and the availability of the technologies to reduce emissions, flaring is still practiced in many parts of the world, which can be avoided if the necessary regulatory policies and measures are established at national levels and international collaboration can facilitate the investment by providing the required finance and technologies. At present the international activities to implement gas flaring project activities under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are very limited, but could be very effective in reducing emissions, if implemented. Due to the global demand and continued use of oil and gas in the next decades, there is an urgent need for reducing gas flaring emissions. This is not only the responsibility of the oil and gas companies, but also the responsibility of the national governments and the global community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It‘s quite a challenging period at this crucial stage in Nigeria where there is enormous gap in power supply and demand. This paper examines power generation in Nigeria with a view to X-ray some of the challenges of irregular power supply and its associated implications. Critical assessments and methodological evaluations of the research are based on recent literature and publications from Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and Nigeria Gas Company (NGC). The major cause of irregular power supply in Nigeria is believed to be inconsistencies in government policies and shortfall in gas supply to power plants. Nigeria solely depends on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to fire its power plants and gas flaring has continuously hindered its smooth operation. The key objective of the study is to create public awareness on how best to tackle epileptic power supply in Nigeria and also create a mind-set that petroleum industry bill (PIB) is not about increment in petroleum products price as currently perceive by majority of Nigerians but all about sustainable development in the oil and gas industries. The authors believe that with the passage of petroleum industry bill and complete deregulation of power sector, Nigeria is set to join the league of sustained power generation and distribution. Petroleum industry bill (PIB) empowers the gas company to sell gas at competitive price which guarantee return on their investment. The current scenario where gas is delivered to Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at virtually free price is not sustainable and further encourages gas flaring at the detriment of infrastructural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obnoxious gases, particulates and enormous heat are the products of gas flaring causing environmental pollution and human health problem. Black carbon (BC) is an aerosol formed from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuel, biomass and biofuel. This present study aims to provide baseline emission inventory for the amounts of BC released into the atmosphere via gas flaring in the Niger Delta region for a period of 49 years (1965 - 2013); spanning five decades. Emission factors and volume of gas flared for each year for a 49-year period were sourced from literature and were employed to empirically estimate the amounts of BC emitted. For this said period, 55% of the gas produced was flared releasing an enormous amount of 4.56 × 105 tons (4.11 × 108 tons CO2 equivalent) of BC into the environment. It was observed that the amounts of BC released into the environment increased progressively (5.06 × 104-1.27 × 105 tons) for the first decade (1965-1974) of gas flaring to the fourth decade (1995-2004) with a significant reduction (8.74 × 104 tons) in the amounts of BC emitted in the fifth decade (2005-2013). Of the probable solutions proffered to reduce BC emission through gas flaring is the utilization of the gas as transportation fuel (compressed and liquefied natural gas) in the country. Baseline BC emissions from gas flared in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria for a period of 49 years was estimated and presented in this paper. A total of 4.56 x 105 tons (4.11 × 108 tons CO2 equivalent) of BC was released into the environment from 895.015 billion cubic metres of gas flared for a 49-year period. $94.87 Billion worth of gas was flared for this period corresponding to an average of $3.52 Billion per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Global flaring and venting of natural gas is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and airborne pollutants that has proven difficult to mitigate. Devastating impact of such emissions both on the climate and environment makes it inevitable for researchers, environmentalists and policy makers to give remarkable focuses on this issue in recent times. This paper revolves around highlighting potential and critical situations, identifying the proper mitigation and focusing on the sources of flaring and contamination to reduce the generation of wastes from the gas processing plants of a domestic natural gas field in Iran. The flaring management of four domestic gas processing plants with the total capacity of 252 million cubic meter natural gas in a day plays an important role in the environmental pollution reduction. The inventory of emissions lists all the individual sources of air contamination in each gas processing plant and the quantities of the emissions. The major sources of gas flaring are the regeneration gas coming from the mercaptan removal unit in Phase 1, the sweeping gas consumption in the flare network in Phase 2 and 3, and the backup stabilization gas flaring in Phases 4 and 5. The adjustment of fuel gas consumption was conducted after the flare network back pressure has been calculated in Phase 2 and 3 by a Flare Net simulator. In order to address the excessive fuel gas network corrosion in Phases 6, 7 and 8, a modification was performed in this gas processing plant. Chemical de-emulsifier injection allowed for removing the debris build-up on the rebuilder's tubes of the condensate stabilization column in Phases 4 and 5. The recycling regeneration gas of the mercaptan removal unit in Phase 1 reduced 55% of the gas flaring in this gas processing plant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently global attempt are focused on replacing gas flaring by environmentally friendly technologies, such as gas to liquid (GTL) technology. The main aim of this practice is preventing waste of energy and decreasing the emission of CO2 and other harmful by-product gases. In order to fulfill this goal, improvement of GTL process efficiency seems necessary. For this purpose, in this work the performance of two different configurations is compared in basis of hydrogen component. In both, refinery purge gases are used as a feedstock where enter to reaction side of a hydrogen perm-selective membrane reformer. In the first configuration, steam reformer reactor is located outside the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis loop while in the second one is placed inside the loop. A portion of generated hydrogen in the reformer is permeated through the membrane as a byproduct and the remaining is utilized in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis reactions. The simulation results of the aforementioned loops show that the second configuration is better than the first one of operation. The results of second configuration show 87% hydrogen utilization in F–T reactions and 11% hydrogen production in steam reformer reactions and also 2% hydrogen exit by off gas in separator. Further advantages of this alternative are namely, lessening in CO2 emission rate with a value of 0.8 for the first configuration ones and less than 0.33 to that of flaring, and more than 8430 barrels per day of heavy fraction hydrocarbons containing gasoline and butane fraction for a specified value (about 356.5 MMscfd) of purge gases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One of the main issues facing mankind in this century is the global warming which is induced by the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A promising process for controlling the atmospheric CO2 level is prevention of combustion in flares. In the present work, a novel GTL loop is proposed to convert the natural gas wasted by a gas refinery to higher molecular weight hydrocarbons. The process proposes an alternative method instead of conventional gas-burning flares, aims to minimize CO2 emissions and produce liquid fuel such as gasoline. For this purpose, purged natural gas is converted to synthesis gas in a novel hydrogen-permselective membrane reactor with recycle stream and then it is converted to liquid fuel in Fischer-Tropsch membrane reactor. In this configuration, a loop is constructed by returning and mixing a portion of the product with the original feed through a recycle stream. This approach produces large amounts of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, hydrogen production and decreases environmental impacts owing to purge gases emission. The simulation results of the aforesaid loop, show decrease in CO2 emission rate with a value of 1/10 to that of flaring with production of 0.018 kgmol/s of hydrogen and more than 90 barrels per day of heavy fraction hydrocarbons containing gasoline and butane fraction for a specified value of (about 4 MMscfd) purge gases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The effect of swirl on the performance of a flare stack was experimentally investigated as a passive control technique for combustion in a cross-flow. The burner comprised a circular fuel nozzle with a co-annular airflow, swirled by a concentric vane swirler, with a crosswind of air at the flare tip. It was found that the flames issuing from swirl-vane flare tip were shorter and had wider flame stability limits than the flames issuing from a circular flare tip. Recirculation zones in the wake region of the flare stack were found to persist at relatively higher momentum ratios between the fuel jet and the crosswind. This enhancement was accompanied by an increase in the mixing/combustion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]