Oil Producer Slapped With Record $40 Million Fine for Illegally Burning Off Massive Amounts of Natural Gas in New Mexico

New Mexico regulators have fined a Texas-based oil and gas producer $40.3 million for burning off excessive amounts of natural gas in violation of pollution reporting and control requirements.
The company is accused of mining oil and gas without means of transporting the gas away via pipeline, and instead burning it off in excess of limits or without authorization.
The excess emissions were equivalent to the pollution from heating 16,640 homes for a year.
State oil and gas regulators have also issued a violation notice and proposed a $2.4 million penalty against the company for other regulatory infractions.
Ameredev faces a $2.4 million penalty for regulatory infractions at one of its wells, including failure to file required production and waste reports.