N. Dakota Senate snuffs natural gas flaring bill

Fuel Fix ^ | February 14, 2013 | Associated Press

[thackney]

The North Dakota Senate snuffed out a measure Wednesday aimed at curbing the oil industry’s practice of wasting natural gas as an unwanted byproduct of oil production.

The bill, arguably the toughest to date against the oil industry in North Dakota, was defeated 34-13.

Sen. Tim Mathern’s measure would have cut an exemption commonly used by oil companies claiming an economic hardship of connecting a well to a natural gas pipeline. Oil companies in North Dakota can flare natural gas for a year without paying taxes or royalties on it. After that, companies can request an extension because of the difficulty of connecting the well to a natural gas pipeline. The exemption is nearly always granted by state regulators, who took no position on the legislation.

About one-third of North Dakota’s gas production has been burned off, or “flared,” since the oil boom began about five years ago. Less than 1 percent of natural gas is flared from oil fields nationwide, and less than 3 percent worldwide, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration.

[taildragger]

Wow, thanks, H20 would have to be slung out via centrifugal force or some other means, CO would go along for the ride with the N, the H2S, ouch that is nasty, you got me on that one...

[thackney]

They are not all that bad, but I see the biggest problem is the fast falling flow rate. You have to size for the max and still run at the bottom.

And the volume for these just isn’t worth it economically. They are not gas wells, they are oil wells with a little bit of gas. But to shut in the gas, you shut in the oil.

Trust me, if it was economic to hook up, it would already be done. Don’t forget even a little generator hooked up for permanent installation will have to meet all the EPA emission requirements. A nitrogen rich fuel is going to have even more problems than normal keeping the NOX level low.