Watching Government: States move on flaring

June 4, 2012
States have been moving to control flaring and venting of natural gas associated with growing onshore production of oil from tight shale formations.

States have been moving to control flaring and venting of natural gas associated with growing onshore production of oil from tight shale formations. But the situation is complicated and will take time to address, regulators say.

Last week's column, "Solving the Mystery City," mentioned that three leading Democrats on the US House Energy and Commerce Committee requested a hearing about flaring of dry onshore associated gas that has increased in the US.

OGJ tried to get a comment from Lynn D. Helms, oil and gas division director in North Dakota's Department of Natural Resources, but could not reach him because he was preparing to cohost the 20th annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference May 22-24 in Bismarck. Helms responded by e-mail late on May 24, however, and made several points.

Associated gas is dissolved in the crude at reservoir conditions, and is liberated when the oil is brought to the surface and its pressure and temperature are lowered, he explained. The gas is low-pressure at the wellhead and must be compressed, piped to a processing plant, and processed before it can be marketed, Helms said.

Normally, a different group of companies from producers build and operate gas gathering and processing infrastructure, he continued. "An initial period of flaring is usually allowed so the operator and the gas processing company evaluate the volume and value of the resource so they can correctly design the gas marketing system," he said.

Percentage drops

Helms noted that the percentage of gas flared in North Dakota peaked at 36% in September 2011 and decreased to 32% in March 2012. During that time, just under 1,000 more oil wells were placed into production, he said.

He found it interesting that the three House Democrats' letter cited the US Environmental Protection Agency's green completion rule as a model and referred to state rules as permissive. "The EPA rule phases in the requirement to market gas recovered during completions and requires the gas to be flared until Jan. 1, 2015. That is precisely what we are doing through our enforcement of state rules in North Dakota," he told OGJ.

"It is also interesting that the EPA rule will impede progress in reducing flaring by requiring costly changes to compressors, storage vessels, dehydrators, and gas processing plant monitoring and reporting to implement maximum achievable control technology," Helms added.

Texas, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania also have flaring and venting rules, Carol Booth, communications manager at the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, told OGJ on May 29. She said that IOGCC is aware of the problem, and the matter could come up during its midyear meeting June 3-5 in Vancouver, BC.

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