Assessment of Advanced Technologies to Capture Gas Flaring in North Dakota

Flaring of associated gas from oil wells and the excess gas from gas-processing units and oil refineries is one of the most prominent producers of greenhouse gas emissions. Flaring, by definition, is a method used to burn unwanted flammable gas, which produces significant amounts of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur oxide. The petroleum industry adds millions of tons of CO annually into the atmosphere by flaring gas, which presents a serious risk due to the environmental and economic impacts associated with it. In light of the increasing awareness of this threat, the industry is investigating economical means to reduce the anthropogenic release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Oil production from the Bakken and Three Forks formations has significantly increased over the last ten years without commensurate augmentation of gas capture infrastructure, which, consequently, resulted in increased flaring of the associated gas. The North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) has set rigorous regulations to reduce flaring. However, operating companies are experiencing challenges to meet NDIC gas capturing limit of 95%, which leads to oil production being curtailed. This paper presents an overview of the latest technologies implemented worldwide to reduce gas flaring and discusses their applicability as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Then, to evaluate North Dakota’s flaring situation, the amount of gas flaring within the recent years is provided. It is discussed that implementation of underground gas storage and methanol portable units may be cost-effective measures to meet the North Dakota gas-capturing objective. A successful implementation of gas recovery technologies can significantly reduce gas emissions and gain potential economic profit.