Rental Flare

Rent a flare when the need is short-term, urgent, or non-recurring — typically when the duration is under 6–12 months, or when capital constraints make buying impractical for a temporary requirement. Renting avoids capex, depreciation, and storage between uses.

Rent makes sense when:

• Plant turnaround or commissioning requiring temporary gas disposal
• Emergency response while a permanent flare is offline
• Pilot project or trial that may not lead to permanent installation
• Pipeline blowdown, hydro-testing, or one-off gas displacement
• Capital approval is delayed but operational need is immediate

Buy makes sense for permanent, continuous, or recurring multi-year flaring at a fixed site, where rental costs across the full duration would exceed the purchase price.

Rental terms typically range from a few weeks to multiple years, with standard contracts at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months and longer-term agreements available with reduced monthly rates. Terms include the unit, controls, ignition, optional operator support, and routine consumables (e.g., pilot fuel).

Typical commercial scope:

• Mobilization and demobilization charges
• Monthly or daily rental rate (declines with longer commitment)
• Operator and/or technician support if requested
• Maintenance and inspection during the rental period
• Insurance and liability terms specified in contract
• Return condition and damage assessment terms

Project-specific scope (sour service, special regulatory documentation, on-site engineer) is added as required.

A standard rental flare package includes the complete flare system ready to operate — flare stack and tip, pilot burners, ignition system, control panel, gas inlet piping, and structural mounting (skid or trailer). Optional add-ons cover specific application needs.

Standard inclusions:

• Flare stack with appropriate height for radiation safety
• Engineered flare tip sized for design flow range
• Continuous pilot system with redundant ignition
• PLC control panel with HMI and alarm logic
• Gas inlet flange and isolation valve
• Pilot fuel supply (process gas or integrated propane)
• Function test certificate at handover

Optional: on-site operator, remote monitoring, additional fuel tanks, custom controls, sour-service material upgrades.

A rental flare can typically be on-site within 24–72 hours of order confirmation for nearby projects, or 1–2 weeks for international shipments. Pre-engineered units in the rental fleet are kept commissioned and ready to deploy, eliminating the design and fabrication lead time required for a purchase.

Speed depends on:

• Fleet location relative to site
• Transportation mode (road, sea, air)
• Site readiness (pad, gas tie-in, electrical) — can be prepared in parallel
• Customs clearance for international shipments
• Site access constraints (crane availability for skid units)

Emergency deployments can be expedited via air freight when timeline is critical and project economics support the cost.

Rental flare fleets cover gas flows from a few hundred kg/hr up to 100,000+ kg/hr, with multiple unit sizes available to match the duty. The right unit is selected based on peak relief flow, gas composition, available pressure, and turndown requirements.

Typical fleet coverage:

• Small (≤5,000 kg/hr): well testing, biogas plant commissioning, small process vents
• Medium (5,000–25,000 kg/hr): pipeline tie-ins, mid-size turnarounds, gas processing operations
• Large (25,000–100,000+ kg/hr): refinery/petrochemical turnarounds, major plant outages, emergency relief support

For sour gas, acid gas, or specialty service, units with upgraded materials are reserved as needed and can be combined with rental scrubber or quench skids.

Rental flares meet the same regulatory and design standards as permanent units — API 537, API 521, EPA 40 CFR 60.18, EU IED as applicable, and project-specific local requirements. Documentation including design certificates, performance test results, and operating manuals is included with the unit.

Standard documentation:

• API 537 design conformance certificate
• Radiation calculation per API 521 for personnel safety
• Operating manual and control system documentation
• Inspection and maintenance records
• Function test report from last commissioning
• Material certificates and pressure test records as applicable

For projects requiring local regulatory submissions, CRA provides supporting documentation and engineering review where needed.

CRA provides operational support throughout the rental period, scaled to the project's needs — from on-call technical support for self-operated units to full on-site operator coverage for critical or unattended operations. Support is included in the rental scope or added as an option.

Available support tiers:

• Standard: commissioning, handover, operating manual, on-call phone support
• Enhanced: periodic site visits for inspection and tuning, remote monitoring, monthly performance reports
• Full operator support: dedicated technician on-site for the duration; common for unattended remote operations or critical service
• Emergency response: 24/7 hotline and dispatch for unplanned issues

Support tier is matched to the project's risk profile, regulatory exposure, and the customer's in-house capability.