Why is it that you always see what appears to be increadable waistage at oil fields on the news etc?

Question

they always show huge flames and spouts of oil going nowhere. why?

Answer 1

Because it makes a dramatic photo.  Most oil fields don't do that, so they're boring and don't show up on the news.

Most of the flames are called flares, and are one of two types.  In some oil fields, the natural gas that comes up with the oil is just burned off.  This is most common where there is no nearby market for the natural gas, or where the quantities are so small that it wouldn't be worth building the facilities to collect it.  These can be quite large and dramatic. Nigeria is the worst offender.

The other type of flare is a pressure relief flare.  It's found at  refineries, oil rigs, and many chemical plants.  As its name implies, it's a safety feature to relieve unexpected pressure surges in the equipment.  The material being vented could be toxic, so they burn it, which reduces it to mostly CO2 and H2O.  There is always a little emitted to act as a pilot light in case of overflow.  Except in case of overflow, this isn't very dramatic.

The most dramatic type of fires, and therefore the one most likely to make the news, comes from bombing oil rigs, wells, or refineries, or from other disasters.  This shows up on the news in much the same way Iowa shows up on the news during floods or Presidential primaries - but it would be a mistake to conclude that residents of Iowa spend most of their lives conducting underwater caucuses.