The Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition consists of several oil and gas companies and trade associations in Texas. To recommend and develop solutions to minimize flaring and methane emissions are the aims of this coalition.
To communicate why and when flaring is necessary, data and other evidence will also be used by the new group. During the production of oil, flaring is the deliberate burning of unwanted polluting gas. Flaring is an acute problem in Texas, the biggest shale field in the US.
When prices are too low to make transportation feasible, oil drillers tend to flare or vent gas. To burn or vent gas above regulations, companies are regularly allowed by Texas. More than 35,000 flaring permits have been issued by Texas since 2013 and none has been denied.
By releasing carbon dioxide, flaring worsens climate change. Venting discharges unburned methane which is many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
