Pipeline capacity constraints in the Permian are affecting not only surging oil production. There’s a shortage of natural gas pipelines as well, and operators across West Texas and New Mexico have been flaring natural gas at higher rates as gas production has soared together with oil production. In the fastest-growing oil patch in the United States, surging volumes of natural gas have become a kind of a side product that drillers prefer to burn off instead of shutting in wells and missing out on monetizing the oil production gushing out in the Permian. Company executives admit that they wouldn’t flare as much gas as they do if they had a choice. According to estimates by The Wall Street Journal , every day in the Permian companies burn around US$1 million worth of natural gas. The greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of gas are equivalent to the emissions from […]