Saturday, May 01, 2010

Oil companies, Gas flaring, sociopathy

While BP's oil creeps slowly towards the coast of Louisiana, another crime committed by the oil industry on a daily basis should be flagged up. Gas flaring.

Pressure variations require release of gas. Instead of compressing and processing this gas, it is flared off. This is a waste of energy, and produces toxic air pollution, as well as 0.5% of world CO2 emissions. That is 150 billion cubic metres of natural gas are flared or vented annually, an amount worth approximately 30.6 billion dollars, equivalent to 25 percent of the United States’ gas consumption or 30 percent of the European Union’s gas consumption per year. If steam is added to reduce the pollution, it produces noise pollution.

Flaring is not necessary. It has been reduced by three quarters since the 1970s by technological improvements.

It is time now to stop gas flaring totally. Why is the oil industry dragging its feet? Because the increase in supply of natural gas to the market would reduce the value of its product.

Corporations are persons in law, persons who often show a number of sociopathic traits.

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