Permian natural gas flaring lowest in a decade as production plunges during pandemic FacebookTwitterEmail Flaring of natural gas in the Permian Basin of West Texas has fallen to the lowest level in nearly a decade after production plunged during the coronavirus pandemic.James Durbin / For the Chronicle / For the Chronicle Flaring of natural gas in the Permian Basin of West Texas has fallen to the lowest level in nearly a decade after production plunged during the coronavirus pandemic. An estimated 1.6 percent of the Permian’s natural gas production was flared in the fourth quarter of 2020, the lowest since 2012, according to a preliminary analysis by Rystad, a Norwegian energy research firm.