Why is wasted gas from oil exploration sites flared up into the sky as opposed to being used for some other process that needs energy?

Question

Seems wasteful? But I know nothing about the process and am curious.

In: Engineering

Answer 1

It demands much infrastructure to move gas and it is not easily exported to other places. It demands a pipeline all the way from well to liquidating plant or consumer. In the US shale basins the wells have become so gassy that production has been curtailed because the natural gas pipelines are over loaded at some gas terminals gas is negative cost people are paid to take it out of the pipe. It is not legal to flare the gas from the shale oil basins so the oil service companies can only pay people to take the gas.