tigerstyle

I’ve been playing this game ever since I saw it on Geowizard! The game seems to update dynamically based on what countries you choose. Does anyone know how it determines best path between countries as you update your guess? Underlying graphs?

My hunch would be that abandoned wells are more responsible for this issue than better regulated new wells. Old wells are more likely to leak, as shown in the link below, are often never checked on, and were often drilled and shut-in when there was a lot less regulation. They can be venting directly to atmosphere, and since natural gas is naturally odorless and wells are often in remote locations, the potential for them to leak a lot of gas for a long time is high.

Texas has a lot more historical production of oil and gas, which should result in a lot more old and abandoned wells. That doesn't give them a pass, but if this hypothesis is true, this flaring regulation would not have a major impact.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drilling-abandoned-sp...