HOUSTON, April 30 Reuters Operators drilling for oil in Texas are scrambling to dispose of their excess natural gas amid a supply glut and weak prices, prompting an uptick in flaring requests.

The Railroad Commission of Texas RRC, which regulates the state39;s oil and natural gas industry, last week approved 21 exemption requests from operators, mostly in the Permian and Eagle Ford shale fields, to flare, more than four times the level it approved this time last year.

Flaring, or the burning of unwanted gas, has come under greater regulatory scrutiny in recent years amid pushes by environmental groups and others to clamp down on the practice that releases greenhouse gases to help slow climate change.

Producers, however, now face a dilemma with crude oil prices trading above 80 a barrel, but gas remaining depressed and in some places falling into negative territory.

We think that operators will basically use all the tools in their tool box to try and keep producing oil because the oil returns are pretty strong right now, said Jason Feit, advisor to energy data provider Enverus.

Flaring is becoming more challenging everywhere, so I think that is something they are probably not wanting to do, but it would be preferable to shutting in any wells for sure, he added.

Operators can seek an exemption from Texas39; flaring rule for safety reasons, maintenance or emergencies, and during the first ten days of production when bringing on a new well, the RRC said.

Devon Energy…