I wonder then what the crossover point is....where flaring becomes more expensive then coming up with a small scale method of cleaning and utilizing the gas at the well head.
Could flare gas provide enough electricity to power the well head operations?
Too many variables to answer that. In some cases yes, others no.
What is the gas/oil ratio? What is the field pressure? If it is deep an low pressure it is going to take pumping horsepower to lift it out of the ground. Some fields just need an open valve and they flow on their own.
On the Alaskan North slope, they power nearly everything with the natural gas taken off the field while still re-injecting left over gas in many fields. Prudhoe Bay has an abundance of Gas and still lots of pressure left; next door at Kuparuk they are running low on gas and are preparing to pipe it over from Prudhoe.