"Top shale-drilling states are flaring near-record amounts of natural gas, even as the industry vows to cut down on the amount of climate-changing pollution it emits, according to industry research and public data.
Flaring — the burning of surplus gas that eliminates methane but releases carbon emissions and other pollutants — is one of the most visible effects of the shale-drilling boom. Wells in the Bakken and Permian basin formations produce huge amounts of gas along with oil, overwhelming the available pipeline networks.
The solution has been to burn the gas in flares at individual well sites, although some gas has been vented directly to the atmosphere. State regulators have largely avoided cracking down on companies that flare excessive amounts of gas, despite pressure from environmental groups."
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