North Dakota Gas

Bakken Boom in Western North Dakota

The jobless rate in the 12 North Dakota counties over the Bakken Formation is less than 2% and employers are having a very difficult time attracting talented workers – even though the population of these counties is growing rapidly.

More at Fox Business.

Reducing Natural Gas Flaring in North Dakota

An enormous amount of natural gas is being flared in western North Dakota [1]. The House Taxation and Finance Committee is considering a plan to incentivize collection or use of natural gas at drilling sites that are waiting on pipeline.

[1] http://geology.com/stories/13/natural-gas-flaring-in-north-dakota/

More at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead.

Most Popular: 12/03 to 12/09

1500-Year Arctic Atmospheric Cycle [1]

Voyager 1 Enters a New Region of Deep Space [2]

Flaring Gas in North Dakota [3]

Superstorm Sandy and Sea Level Rise [4]

Most Accurate Gravity Map of the Moon [5]

Compensation for Island Nations Suffering from Sea Level Rise [6]

History of the Hope Diamond [7]

[1] http://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=126069
[2] http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-381#2
[3] http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=79810
[4] http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/11/27/sandy-sea-level-rise/1730405/
[5] http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-385
[6] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-03/islands-seek-funds-for-climate-damage-at-un-talks.html
[7] http://museumdiamonds.com/~scottsuc/index.php/hope-diamond.html

More at Geology.com.

Flaring Gas in North Dakota

Northwestern North Dakota has one of the lowest population densities in the United States; however, this night lights image from NASA shows the area has hundreds of points of illumination. Many of these lights are Bakken Formation [1] oil wells where natural gas that does not have a pipeline to market is being flared. Flaring is common practice in the oil and gas industry although many object to the practice [2].

[1] http://geology.com/articles/bakken-formation.shtml
[2] http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/flames-light-the-prairie-and-warm-the-planet/

More at NASA.

Fertilizer from North Dakota Natural Gas?

North Dakota has a lot of natural gas that is a by-product of oil production. Some of this gas is currently flared because there is no local market and no pipeline. A proposal to convert some of this gas to fertilizer is being considered.

More at Business Week.

Rising Production in the Bakken Formation

Oil and gas production in North Dakota has been rising steadily as the Bakken Formation is being developed. North Dakota is now the #2 oil-producing state and production continues to rise.

More at Platts.com.

North Dakota Energy Policy as a National Model?

North Dakota has rapidly growing energy production in oil, natural gas, wind, ethanol and other renewable sources. Parts of the state’s energy policy are being held up as models for the federal government.

More at CNBC.

North Dakota Needs Pipelines

Record amounts of oil and natural gas are being produced in North Dakota. However, about 1/3 of the natural gas is being flared because of inadequate pipelines to carry the gas to market. This article explains why the state needs more pipelines to de…

More at CNBC.

Property Tax Elimination in North Dakota?

North Dakota state government has lots of money flowing in from oil and gas production – so much that a proposal to eliminate property taxes is being considered.

More at New York Times.

North Dakota: Pronghorn Formation

In western North Dakota a sandy rock unit known as the Pronghorn Formation, located below the Bakken Formation and above the Three Forks Formation, is yielding oil from horizontal wells.

More at Grand Forks Herald.

Objections to Natural Gas Flaring

Drilling for oil in the shale formations of Texas and North Dakota often results in the flaring of natural gas – as some of these areas are not served by natural gas pipelines. Although this practice is somewhat of an industry tradition it is drawing increasing criticism because it wastes a non-renewable energy resource, is an economic loss, produces air pollution and contributes to climate change.

More at FuelFix.com.

State Crude Oil Trends

Five states account for over 50% of the USA’s crude oil production with production rapidly increasing in Texas and North Dakota.

More at Energy Information Administration.

North Dakota Sets Records for Oil and Natural Gas in 2011

Oil and natural gas production in North Dakota is at all-time highs, fueled by intense drilling activity in the Bakken Formation, Three Forks Formations and other rock units.

More at Grand Forks Herald.

Fracking Backlog in North Dakota

Even though oil production from North Dakota’s Bakken Formation has propelled the state to new production records there is still a backlog of wells to be fracked.

More at Bloomberg.

North Dakota Oil Production Rising

Rising production from the Bakken Shale has propelled North Dakota up to the fourth largest oil producing state behind Texas, Alaska and California.

More at Energy Information Administration.

1/3 of Bakken Gas is Flared

The Energy Information Administration reports that about 1/3 of the natural gas produced from the Bakken Formation of North Dakota is flared instead of marketed because natural gas pipelines are not present in the production area or they can not accept…

More at Energy Information Administration.

North Dakota: Record Oil Production

There is still more than one month remaining in 2011, but oil production in North Dakota has broken the annual record set in 2010. The state is on-target to produce about 150 million barrels.

More at FuelFix.com.

Hiring Boom in North Dakota

Thousands of high-paying new jobs are unfilled in North Dakota where natural gas and oil are being produced from the Bakken Formation, the Niobrara Shale and other rock units.

More at MSNBC.

How Much Oil is in the Bakken?

Although the United States Geological Survey estimates that the Bakken Formation beneath parts of North Dakota, Montana and Canada might contain over 4 billion barrels of oil, Harold Hamm, believes that it might contain up to 24 billion barrels.

More at Wall Street Journal.

Flaring Natural Gas in North Dakota

When natural gas is present in a well and no pipeline is available to move it to market or storage that gas has traditionally been flared. This practice causes concerns related to greenhouse gas production and waste.

More at New York Times.

Flaring Natural Gas in North Dakota

When natural gas is present in a well and no pipeline is available to move it to market or storage that gas has traditionally been flared. This practice causes concerns related to greenhouse gas production and waste.

More at New York Times.

Bakken Shale Oil Report from EPRINC

The Energy Policy Research Foundation has released a report titled: The Bakken Boom: An Introduction to North Dakota’s Shale Oil. Oil production from the Bakken could surpass 700,000 barrels per day within the next few years.

Brine Contamination Associated with Oil and Gas Production in the Williston Basin

“U.S. Geological Survey scientists and cooperating partners are examining the potential risk to aquatic resources by contamination from saline waters produced by petroleum development in the Williston Basin of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.” Quoted from the USGS publication release.

Bakken Formation Oil and Gas Reassessment

In the past three years oil and natural gas production from the Bakken Formation of North Dakota and Montana has increased dramatically causing the United States Geological Survey to launch an update of its last assessment that was completed just three years ago. More at UPI.com.

Small, Successful Operators in the Bakken/Three Forks Are Take-Over Targets

According to a brief article in the Oil and Gas Journal, small successful operators in the Bakken Shale / Three Forks Shale play might be prime take-over targets.

How Much Oil is in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations?

Diverging estimates by three different organizations with significant expertise in oil and natural gas assessments leave one wondering how much oil really is in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations? Read the details on the Trib.com website.

Here are the estimates….
USGS…. 4.3 billion barrels
North Dakota Geological Survey…. 11 billion barrels
Continental Resources…. 20 billion barrels

North Dakota Oil Production May Surpass Alaska

Oil production in North Dakota has been rising rapidly over the past few years, driven by the success of the Bakken Shale. A “Chart of the Day” article on the Bloomberg.com website forecasts that the crude output of North Dakota is likely to surpass that of Alaska within the next couple of years.