Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Energy Notes: Drill and Burn - Wasting Gas in the Bakken and Texas

Last summer while in the Bakken of North Dakota I noted the gas flaring taking place: wasting-gas-for-short-term-gain. I hadn't estimated the dollar value of this wasted resource. The value has been estimated at $110 million per year in North Dakota alone (gas-flaring-permits-surge-in-texas) and apparently flaring of gas has greatly increased in Texas as well. Perhaps "Drill baby drill" should be replaced by "Drill and burn". By flaring gas, the Bakken's CO2 footprint starts rivaling that of the tar sands of Alberta.

Flaring natural gas at North Dakota oil well in the Bakken Formation

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