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BISMARCK — North Dakota is one of five states that together account for 90 percent of the nation’s natural gas flared and an “extraordinary” flaring intensity seven times that of the next largest state.
Those are among the findings of consultants Ristad Energi in a study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Fund that found infrastructure capacity limitations by far the biggest cause of flaring gas that cannot be captured and processed.
North Dakota greatly exceeded the other four major states in flaring intensity, the percentage of gas flared as a percentage of total gas produced, according to the report.
North Dakota accounted for 35 percent of the top five states’ fires — second only to Texas, with 41 percent — but had a blaze intensity of 7.1 percent, seven times that of the next state, New Mexico, which burned 1 percent of the gas that was produced in 2021, according to the report of the company Ristad Energi.
New Mexico blazes accounted for 11 percent of the five-state total. Texas, a leading oil and gas state, flared 0.9 percent of the gas it produced in 2021, the report said. Wyoming burned 0.2 percent of its natural gas, followed by Colorado at 0.1 percent.
“It’s a huge source of waste.” It’s unconscionable, really. It’s also a huge source of pollution,” said Jon Goldstein, senior director of regulatory and legislative affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund. “It’s a big problem, especially in North Dakota.”
Gas from oil wells is more difficult to capture
Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, said the vast majority of natural gas produced in the state is a byproduct of oil wells, making it harder to capture.
Elsewhere, most natural gas is produced from natural gas wells specifically designed to capture the gas for processing, he said.
“I don’t believe the way they did that analysis is a good method,” Helms said. “The problem is that North Dakota is the only one of these five states where the vast majority of our gas comes from oil wells.”
In North Dakota, 65 percent of natural gas comes from oil wells, compared to 10 percent in Texas, he said. Flaring occurs at oil wells, not natural gas wells, Helms said.
Still, Helms acknowledged that even if only “connected” gas — gas production linked to oil production — is considered, North Dakota still tops the list, but at a rate closer to 1.5 times that of the next largest state, he said.
“I’m not happy to be in the top percentage,” Helms said. “We still have a significant amount of work to do.”
Plans to increase capture rate
In September, according to the most recent figures available, North Dakota oil producers captured 95 percent of natural gas — setting records for both produced and captured gas. The amount of gas flared statewide since August, when 94 percent of the gas was captured, has decreased by 35,000 cubic feet per day to 156.4 million cubic feet per day, according to state data.
To further reduce flaring, North Dakota is focusing on four oil fields that are lagging well below the overall recovery rate, ranging from 52 to 87 percent, Helms said. Three of the four oil fields are located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
“If we can get them to 95 percent, the associated gas capture would be in line with other states,” Helms said.
Companies are gearing up to capture gas, and Helms predicts that in a year or so more gas from troubled oil fields will be captured and delivered to market.
Increase in pipeline, processing capacity
The plans also call for the reversal of two pipelines, originally designed to carry natural gas from Wyoming to North Dakota, which would allow more gas to be exported for processing, Helms said.
The increased pipeline capacity would also allow for the expansion of two or three gas processing plants in North Dakota, adding half a billion cubic feet of capacity per day, he said.
Natural gas processing capacity in North Dakota quadrupled from one billion cubic feet per day in 2013 to four billion cubic feet per day in 2021, which Helms said has helped significantly reduce flaring.
Gas processing infrastructure continues to expand. In a project expected to begin construction in 2023, a Canadian company called Cerilon plans to develop a $2.8 billion facility in Williams County that will convert natural gas into liquid fuels. Plans call for the plant to produce 24,000 barrels per day of ultra-low sulfur diesel and other specialty products.
In 2011, the flare peaked in North Dakota, when 36 percent of the natural gas was trapped. In 2020, North Dakota, which has 2.4 percent of the nation’s natural gas reserves, accounted for 24 percent of all natural gas flared and flared, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
North Dakota aims to capture 91 percent of natural gas, a level that was reduced in 2018 from 95 percent by 2020 when the policy was adopted in 2014.
Today, most major oil producers aim to capture 95 to 98 percent of natural gas, and the state is considering increasing its capture target, Helms said.
The most productive area of the Bakken formation in the Oil Patch is 80 to 85 percent developed, encouraging oil producers to expand beyond the core, where oil and gas are not as easy to come by, he said.
That will make it harder to increase gas capture rates, Helms said. “It will be an interesting challenge,” he said. Industrial use of horizontal drilling now extends up to three miles laterally, compared to the one-mile laterals that were once standard, making drilling more efficient.
“It’s very exciting,” Helms said, but added that it will be a challenge to build the infrastructure to capture the gas in time to reduce flaring.
Report: Incineration Capacity in North Dakota, Texas
A study by the Environmental Defense Fund found that the wildfires in North Dakota were largely driven by a lack of infrastructure. Infrastructure capacity limitations account for 84 percent of burning in North Dakota and 64 percent in Texas.
North Dakota is one of five states that contributed 90 percent of total flares burned in 2021. North Dakota burns an amount similar to that of Texas, which produces more than nine times as much gas, making North Dakota’s flaring intensity much higher than other states.
Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, methane is more than 80 times stronger, pound for pound, than carbon dioxide in more abundant quantities.
Burning causes more pollution than previously thought
A recent study found that flaring is not as effective at destroying methane as is commonly assumed by both industry and government.
A team of researchers led by the University of Michigan, in findings published in the journal Science, determined that the flare is a source of five times more pollution than previously thought due to inefficient combustion.
Industry and government generally assume that flared gas is burned with 98 percent efficiency, but researchers found that only 91.1 percent of the methane is destroyed by flaring, due to unlit flares and inefficient combustion.
“This represents a fivefold increase in methane emissions above current assumptions and accounts for 4 to 10 percent of total methane emissions from oil and gas in the US,” the study found.
The new EPA rule aims for reduced emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency has published a new 505-page draft rulebook on the regulation of methane burning and emissions.
The proposal would reduce methane emissions from covered sources by 87 percent below 2005 levels, according to the EPA.
Lisa DeVille of Mandaree, a member of the Dakota Resources Council, welcomed the new methane rule, which she said will help reduce flaring.
“Fort Berthold Reservation, where my family and I live, is the most flaming place in North Dakota – the most flaming state!” she said. “The swift finalization of strong EPA rules will protect communities like mine from the immediate threats of flaring and other oil and gas activities and the threats we already experience from climate change.”
The proposed rule, which is open for public comment, focuses attention on “super emitters” of methane, such as unlit flares or large equipment leaks, an approach that Helms said makes sense.
“I think that’s healthy,” he said, adding that North Dakota is taking a similar approach by focusing on four oil fields that are burning at a much higher rate.
On the other hand, Helms is concerned about the rule’s provisions involving the certification of methane emissions, which he said are inconsistent with North Dakota law. Measuring emissions is highly technical and requires special training, Helms said.
In the new rule, the EPA is cracking down on routine burning, but it doesn’t go as far as the states of Colorado and New Mexico, Goldstein said. While that’s an improvement, he said the government should go further in requiring methane emissions to be reduced.
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