Everyone has these images in mind: one imagines an oil production facility with one or more chimneys on which a gas flare burns day and night. But it means that while oil is being extracted, the methane gas that comes to light in the process is unfortunately still being burned senselessly as an annoying by-product. And this is not a distant past, but, with a few commendable exceptions, still the very current way of doing things. It is known as “flaring” or “venting”.
This is doubly worrying: the methane gas that is burnt in this case is harmful to our environment and increases global warming. On the other hand, gas is urgently needed right now. Especially in Germany and the other European countries, gas is a scarce commodity and prices are going through the roof. The supply to industry and also to private households in the coming winters is uncertain.
We have been working with multiphase technologies for many years. In the process, we have developed and refined techniques to fully utilise both oil and associated gases in oil production. This helps both the environment, but also has a tangible, economic benefit. The gas could be piped or shipped in compressed form to LNG terminals. To where it can be used far more sensibly.
As an alternative solution, the methane gas could be used on site to generate electricity. For example, to operate the oil production facilities or to supply surrounding households.
Contact us and browse through our multi-phase pages!
The incentive for this article was a contribution “Verschwendetes Gas: Methan aus der Ölförderung” in the ARD television magazine “Monitor” from 25.08.2022. We would like to share the very worthwhile contribution with you here. It contains some small aspects that we would formulate differently. So flaring is not just an African problem. On the contrary, there are now some very promising projects in Africa. But see for yourself. The contribution is 9 minutes long and describes the topic very clearly, in German language: