it is waste gas because the state of nd industrial commission allows it to be flared. flaring gas in north dakota is forbidden, but the penalty for flaring gas is that the operator has to pay royalties on the flared gas after a one year free ride. so they are against it and they are for it. in some cases, the ndic will restrict production until gas sales are in place, parshall is not restricted.

flaring gas in the bakken is extra wasteful due to the nature of the reservior and fluids.

other states do not allow gas to be flared, except for a limited test period and developement seems to happen. wyoming is a good example and in the pinedale area, companies dont flare gas even during drilling operations.

financing is indeed a problem for some of the operators, it cost about $6 million to drill and complete some of these wells. parshall is an exception, most of these wells pay out in a few months at the current price. but outside the sweet spots, there will probably be a slow down in activity if the price stays where it is now. some of the smaller companies will probably get hit real hard, their expectations exceeding reality.

and the good news is that some of the wells are slowly being connected to gas sales. gas processing capacity is probably a bigger problem than extending a pipeline a few miles.

ND production vs. US total:

I inadvertently did this in monthly kilobarrels, not kb/d, fyi. Scale is the same. MT production has recently peaked - so much for shale formation oil. In re: credit: Boom or bust, a look at oil prices

Many believe the magic number is $65 dollars a barrel for production to stop in the Bakken formation — the nickname given to a massive oil reserve.

Ness said while Bakken formation drilling is capital intensive, the $65-dollar figure isn’t necessarily accurate.

“I don’t really believe there’s any particularly set price because of the productivity of the variations across the Bakken,” Ness said.

Ness said Mountrail County in northwestern North Dakota is one area where Bakken oil production has been so good it will not be affected by lower prices.

Areas where a decrease may take place are Divide, Burke, Mercer counties and parts of Dunn County, Ness said.

The "waste gas" could be used to generate electricity (rural electrification has put most of USA within a couple of miles of a medium voltage distribution line (capable of accepting at least 12 MW (often 18 MW) typically).

Cheap, portable ICE generators for smaller volumes (up to 10 MW or so) and gas turbines above that.

It ought to be against the law to flare NG like that ! More "climate change". If such a law depresses oil production slightly, then good. More oil later.

Best Hopes for Less Waste and Carbon Emissions,

Alan