Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter The Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico has become the key region to watch as US operators lay out their decarbonization strategies. The basin, which is the US’ largest onshore oil field, has long been an environmental eyesore due to large amounts of venting and flaring of associated gas. But lately, operators have been under pressure from investors, international buyers, and the public to clean up their environmental credentials. Flaring has become a cornerstone of Permian operators' decarbonization plans, along with other low-hanging fruit such as electrification, emissions monitoring, and replacing gas-driven pneumatic equipment with air-driven devices. The efforts are starting to yield results, according to a recent analysis from Rystad Energy. Average flaring intensity across the 50 largest gas producers reached 1.6% in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 2.5% in the first half of 2021 and 3.2% in 2020, the consultancy said, adding the rapid decline was a “concrete sign” that best practices are starting to migrate from larger players to smaller firms.
