'Worst gas flaring since 2009 ' -World Bank

"How many times have you seen that long slender stack with ferocious flame as you passed by a refinery? Well for those of you who are naive about industrial units , that is called a typical gas flare.The implications of the gas flare characteristics have a lot that could be attributed to the safety aspects of the plant.

The major objective for this unit is the pressure relief application thus preventing explosion which is impending if vented otherwise.But that is all about optimism from preventing a potential catastrophe ..Thinking about the negative consequences specially from the context of exploration and production sites this is genuinely the burning of the excess natural gas that would other wise cause storage complications or may be the result of technical & economic restrictions in place.Any way this is leading to humongous amount of CO2 released along with unburned methane and carbon soot emissions having inverse impact on environment and is an indirect mockery of the objectives laid down by UN with reference to the sustainability development goals by 2030 ,where we aim for reduction of carbon foot print...

The recent satellite report claims that the global gas flaring has increased to 150 bcm , which is equivalent to the annual consumption of sub-saharan Africa.Well that is a huge potential wasted for any energy enthusiasts like me.

So the golden question must be ' what are the alternatives for that?'

Some of them are listed below:

1. Generation of electricity: The natural gas can be used for generation of electricity through gas turbines or steam turbines .Even internal combustion engines can be used with natural gas for the electricity and heat generation purposes .

2. Enhanced Oil recovery: The associated gas can be reinjected to wells to maintain the flow and thus enhance the life of the well.Also the another alternative for secondary production is by using the CO2 from burning gas for reinjection .

3. Feedstock in Petrochemical industies.

4. LNG & CNG - For domestic & Industrial applications."

"The world is in an energy transition state and the novel pandemic has only expedited this transition. It is high time that energy professionals address this and bring appropriate action in place to ensure sustainable future for generations to come."

~Akhil Krishnan~