Lessons learned to optimize flare gas recovery systems in gas plant operations

There are more than 100 flares spread across many operating facilities in the upstream and downstream oil and gas processing plants of Saudi Aramco. Flare systems are designed to provide the safe disposal of hydrocarbons that are either automatically vented or manually vented from process units. Flare systems gather vented gases and combust them to prevent release directly to the atmosphere. Since Saudi Arabia started producing oil, associated gas has been flared. In the 1970s, the Kingdom recognized the value of the associated gas produced with crude oil. Major investments in building a sizable master gas system resulted in capturing and utilizing all the associated gas instead of burning