3) Well Test Flaring Well test flaring occurs during drilling...

3) Well Test Flaring Well test flaring occurs during drilling and testing of all oil and gas wells. This is a standard practice used to determine the types of fluids the well can produce, the pressure and flow rates of fluids and other characteristics of the underground reservoir. If there are pipelines nearby, operators may be able to direct the test gas to a processing plant and this process is called "in-line testing". This is not a practice that is feasible for some exploratory wells as there may not be any pipelines and processing plants nearby. The pressure, flow and composition of the gas has to be determined before it can be safely handled by the pipelines and processing plants. This information determines the economic value of the well and what type of production facilities will be installed. Also, additional flaring during "under balanced drilling" operations is performed to dispose of the gas that comes to the surface. This process speeds up drilling and reduces the damage to producing formations by the drilling fluids. Some well test flaring may be necessary after certain well servicing operations. The average flaring duration is 2.5 days.