Disposing of waste gas by burning.

Gas associated with oil extraction is burnt off into the atmosphere. Flaring of produced gas – the process of burning-off surplus combustible vapors from a well, either as a means of disposal or as a safety measure to relieve well pressure – is the most significant source of air emissions from offshore oil and gas installations.

For many years when natural gas prices were too low, companies that drilled for oil and used to discover gas, would vent the gas into the atmosphere. The standard joke at the time used to be: I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I didn’t find any oil, and the good news is that at least I didn’t discover any gas either.

Today, Nigeria still flares more gas than any other country, which contributes to global warming. Nigeria flares 24 bcm of gas per annum