A characterization of solution gas flaring in Alberta

information reported here is the result of a detailed analysis of data on f lared and vented solution gas in the Province of Alberta in 1999. A goal of characterizing these flares was to aid in the improved management of solut ion gas flaring. In total, 4499 oil and bitumen batteries reported flaring or venting with a combined gas volume of 1.42 billion m(3). There was signi ficant site-to-site variation in volumes of gas flared or vented, gas compo sition, and flare design. Approximately 5% of physical batteries generate 35.7% of the gas flared and vented from oil and bitumen batteries. Therefore, if one were to attempt t o mitigate flaring, significant progress could be made by starting with onl y the largest sites. The monthly variability of gas volumes was considered because high variability could affect implementation of alternative technol ogies. It was found that slightly more than 40% of the sites were reasonabl y steady and had monthly deviations of 100% or less from the average flared volume. The variability in monthly volumes was less for the larger batteri es. Data from individual well sites show significant variability in the rel ative concentrations of each of the major species contained in solution gas .