Satellite-Observed Changes in Mexico's Offshore Gas Flaring Activity Linked to Oil/Gas Regulations

Abstract

Gas flaring is a commonly used practice in the oil and gas sector that leads to key air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. Here we use multipollutant (NO 2 , SO 2 ) satellite observations from 2005 to 2017 to quantify gas flaring activity in Mexico's offshore production cluster, which produces ~50–70% of the country's oil and is among the world's largest oil fields. We estimate annual flared gas volume ranging from 5.5 to 20 × 10 9  m 3 over the Mexican offshore corresponding to >40% associated gas production, which is significantly larger than for instance offshore United States where reportedly <3% of associated gas is flared. The 13-year record of satellite-derived gas flaring indicates a drastic increase until 2008 and a decline afterward. While the increased flaring is associated with efforts to enhance oil production, the post-2008 decline is linked to an expanding capacity of associated gas utilization, providing a continuing opportunity to reduce flaring for environmental and economic benefits.