Alberta industry blew past gas flaring ceiling in 2024 as province eliminates limit

Amanda Stephenson · Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jun 24, 2025 9:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

Energy producers successful Alberta, Canada's apical oil-producing province, blew past the province's self-imposed bounds connected yearly earthy state flaring successful 2024 for a 2nd twelvemonth successful a row, Reuters calculations show.

Late past week, Alberta's vigor regulator said it was ending the bounds connected flaring. Reuters is the archetypal to study the change, which the regulator softly published successful a bulletin connected its website.

On Monday, the regulator confirmed the removal of the bounds and said it was responding to absorption from the provincial government.

Oil accumulation is booming successful Canada, the world's No. 4 producer, which has been trying to diversify exports distant from the U.S. since President Donald Trump took bureau and began imposing tariffs connected galore Canadian exports.

Canadian vigor companies anticipation Prime Minister Mark Carney volition beryllium much accommodating to the manufacture than his predecessor Justin Trudeau.

WATCH | Flaring successful focus, Alberta exceeds limits:  

A tally by Reuters of Alberta Energy Regulator information shows lipid and state producers successful the state flared astir 912.7 cardinal cubic metres of earthy state successful 2024, exceeding the yearly provincial bounds of 670 cardinal cubic metres by 36 per cent.

The state had exceeded the bounds successful 2023, with regulatory information showing full yearly flare volumes of 753 cardinal cubic metres that year.

Flaring bounds nary longer enforced

Flaring is the signifier of burning disconnected the excess earthy state associated with lipid production. If the volumes of state byproduct are small, and determination are nary pipelines adjacent to transport the gas, companies often take for economical reasons to dispose of it done flaring alternatively of capturing it and storing it.

Eliminating the signifier would chopped astatine slightest 381 cardinal tonnes of c dioxide equivalent successful environmentally harmful emissions released into the atmosphere, the World Bank has said.

Ryan Fournier, spokesperson for Alberta's Environment Minister Rebecca Shulz, said successful an email that the state launched a reappraisal of its flare state argumentation aft the lipid and state manufacture exceeded the bounds for the archetypal clip successful 2023.

He said the state determined the 20-year-old flaring bounds nary longer served arsenic an effectual argumentation for reducing flaring and the ceiling did not relationship for accrued lipid accumulation successful the state oregon caller emissions-reduction strategies.

The national vigor and situation ministries did not instantly reply to requests for comment.

Alberta's crude lipid accumulation acceptable an all-time grounds successful 2024 astatine 1.5 cardinal barrels, a 4.5 per cent increase implicit 2023.

A 2022 study by the Alberta Energy Regulator showed flaring volumes successful the state person been expanding since 2016.

Flaring expanding worldwide

A 2024 study by the World Bank, which has been advocating for a planetary extremity to the signifier of regular flaring by 2030, recovered that flaring by lipid and state companies worldwide roseate seven per cent in 2023 adjacent arsenic crude lipid accumulation roseate lone one per cent over the aforesaid time.

While flaring is amended for the situation than immoderate different methods of state disposal specified arsenic venting, it inactive releases a assortment of byproducts and greenhouse gases into the ambiance arsenic good arsenic achromatic soot which tin beryllium harmful to quality health, said Amanda Bryant, elder lipid and state expert for the cleanable vigor think-tank the Pembina Institute.

She said companies person alternatives disposable to them, specified arsenic investing successful instrumentality that tin beryllium utilized to seizure flare gases astatine tract and redirect them backmost into accumulation for usage arsenic fuel.

"Getting escaped of the regularisation doesn't get escaped of the problem," Bryant said successful an interview. "The relation of a regulator truly needs to beryllium to forestall harmful impacts of manufacture and to guarantee that our resources are developed responsibly."