When oil companies drill for petroleum, natural gas comes up with the oil. If gas pipelines aren't available to capture this "associated gas," operators can either vent it (release it raw) or flare it (burn it). Flaring converts methane to carbon dioxide and water vapor, CO2 is less potent than raw methane as a greenhouse gas, but flares are imperfect and release unburned methane, black carbon, benzene, and other toxics. The Biden administration's 2024 methane rule gave operators 24 hours to flare before they needed to shut in the well. The Trump EPA extended that window to 72 hours and added an open-ended "exigent circumstances" exception.