Will gas flaring ever cease, even in the light of rising energy costs?

Question

Gas flaring contributes to global warming, but then governments seem to be reluctant to properly enforce and stop outright waste of this energy resource. Setting "flares out" dates that are not adhered to is tantamount to shifting the goal post. Is it because, for now, it seems to be abundant?

Answer 1

Never completely will it be stopped.   Even if gas were hundreds of times the price it is now, the equipment to liquify, store, transport... would be more than its use would be worth.    Some places use it to run a generator which is a much better idea than just flaring it off, but still not economical in all instances.

Answer 2

According to my uncle who works at a refinery in California, any flaring is due to equipment malfunctions. If all equipment is operating correctly, no flaring occurs. And sure enough, I haven't seen these big flares from the refinery for many years now. Decades really. So the flaring is kind of like a safety valve, only used in emergencies now days.

Answer 3

Ironically, movie stars and environmentally conscious businesses are paying carbon offset trading firms to reduce their carbon footprints, and at least one of those firms is apparently paying another company to burn a gas flare for the supposed purpose of reducing global warming.  So, with people throwing money at "environmental consciousness," which is being used to financially incentivize gas flaring, it's unlikely gas flaring will ever cease.  Rather, with money to be made from environmentalists, gas flaring will likely increase as concern over global warming grows.