A new industry organization will address shale-related gas flaring, stranded gas and emissions reduction with the goal of monetizing gas at the wellhead.

The group—Flaring Issues, Solutions and Technologies (FIST)—was officially launched at the recent Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) in Denver.

“A major goal of FIST will be to use novel technology to monetize gas at the wellhead,” said Richard Haut, program manager for Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program, a research arm of the Houston Advanced Research Center and one of the members of FIST. Other FIST members are the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) and Environmentally Friendly Drilling (EFD).

The FIST project team will develop the group’s program in a series of phases, Haut said.

Phase 1 will develop a web-based prototype screen tool and begin screening technologies. A white paper will capture regionally specific findings from various workshops to identify gas quality, quantity, current amount of gas being flared and wells currently shut-in for lack of sufficient infrastructure or proximity to infrastructure such as power lines, roads and pipelines, Haut said.

“Phase 2 will consist of performing an initial evaluation of various technologies and to refine the screening tool,” Haut said. Outcomes of Phase 2 include documenting selection criteria, selecting field test sites and developing a detailed budget for Phase 3 and Phase 4.

Phase 3 will include detailed engineering and design for field demonstrations, as selected by the sponsors.

Phase 4 will include field trials, documentation and the continuation of the program to include additional testing and to provide training, Haut said.

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