Profit And Loss From Flaring Of Natural Gas In Permian Basin Wells Of New Mexico.

Profit And Loss From Flaring Of Natural Gas In Permian Basin Wells Of New Mexico.

The Delaware basin, a part of the Permian basin, contributes massively to New Mexico's oil and gas production. Yet it also contributes to problems - and one is flaring natural gas usually, but not always, at the top of wells.

This continues a series on the Delaware basin that started with an assessment of the premier oil and gas basin in the USA, and one of the best in the world. The journey is fascinating because of the tough-rock geology, the new technology needed to make wells flow, and the problems that are raising political arguments, right now, at both state and federal level.

On a map, the Delaware is actually the western end of the Permian basin, but it straddles both New Mexico and Texas (see map).

What is the issue with flaring?

Flaring refers to natural gas that has no pipeline so the gas is released to the atmosphere and burned because the operator can make a better profit by continuing to sell the oil that comes up the well along with the gas. Now flaring is actually wasting gas, almost like burning money, and that eats a little into the oil sale profits. But still, a profit is a profit, and