How much power is in a flare?
A whiteboard estimate of the electricity hiding in flared gas: one million standard cubic feet a day is roughly 4 to 5 MW from a gas engine.
Field Notes
Field Notes
Short, sourced explainers from the field: flare gas, gas to power, and the common mistakes that cost modular energy projects.
Why associated gas rises, then falls
Associated gas rate is oil rate times gas-oil ratio, and the product is usually a hump. Why a plant sized to day-one gas flares or idles.
Burning diesel while your own gas flares
Some remote oilfields truck in diesel for power while their own gas burns in a flare. What that costs in CO2 and in money.
One 1,000 kW genset: 590 kW at 45°C
Gas engines and turbines lose output in heat. Why plants in hot climates must be sized on the site-rated curve, not the ISO rating.
No spare engine? At full load, short a third of the time
Installing exactly as many gas engines as the load needs looks efficient. The availability arithmetic says otherwise.
Most of your fuel leaves as heat
A gas engine turns roughly 28 to just over 40% of its fuel into electricity. Recovering the heat lifts total efficiency to about 80%.
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