The flaring of natural gas in West Texas’ booming Permian Basin has exceeded previous estimates and is now contributing to far more “widespread waste” and pollution than ever before, according to a new report. Burned off or vented natural gas in the Permian is projected at a new high of 661 million cubic feet per day in June, way up from previous record highs of about 450 million cubic feet a day late last year, the Norwegian research firm Rystad Energy said Tuesday. The most productive gas field in the Gulf of Mexico – Shell Oil’s Mars-Ursa complex – only produces 40 percent of the gas that’s currently wasted in the Permian, Rystad said, putting the data into context. As companies drill for oil, they’re also pumping out large volumes of associated natural gas that frequently has nowhere to go because of temporary pipeline shortages in the region. So […]