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

Oil wells are in the middle of nowhere. There is no process needing energy near them some of the time. When there is, gas is pipped to the nearby user. When there is no nearby user the gas is flared because CO2 pollution is much less harmful than CH4 (natural pas) pollution.