Flaring and Venting Spike in December Cold Snap

Nathalie Eddy of Earthworks uses an infrared camera to record emissions from a series of tanks in the Permian Basin. Photo: Jerry Redfern.

December saw dramatic increases in the quantity of natural gas flared and vented by oil and gas operators in New Mexico compared to the previous month, according to new monthly statistics reported to the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (OCD). The amounts are far and away the largest in the monthly reports since the state enacted new venting and flaring restrictions and reporting requirements in 2021 and show a 39% monthly increase in flared gas and a 161% monthly increase in natural gas vented straight to the atmosphere in December. According to the EPA’s greenhouse gas calculator, those releases were equivalent to the CO2 emissions of 8,600 gasoline-powered cars driven for a year.

Graph showing the December spike in flaring (yellow line) and in venting (blue line). The venting amounts are far smaller than flaring amounts, but vented natural gas is a far more potent climate change driver than flared gas. Source: New Mexico Oil Conservation Division.