the way it was explained to me is if you see the flares then something is wrong.... | Hacker News

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chasd00 4 months ago | parent | context | favorite | on: How an oil refinery works

the way it was explained to me is if you see the flares then something is wrong. It may not be catastrophic or anything serious but something isn't going according to plan. Because you're right, why burn it off when you can sell it?

beerandt 4 months ago [–]

It generally means something is out of balance, which doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong. Usually not.

But if something is wrong, yea you can bet they will be burning off with big flares.

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