Effects of Gas Flaring in North Dakota

CEE 426: Oil/Gas Development & Environmental

Prepared for Dr. Gadhamshetty

By: Dan Mitchell & Abhishek Ray

Date:11/30/16

Introduction
Are We Running Out of Energy?
Why?
Back of the envelope calculation
The Bakken
The Boom
Concerns about fracking
Flaring in US
Flaring in ND
Why Flair
Rules and Regulation
Effects of Flaring
Ways to decrease flaring
Final Destination
Conclusion
Work Cited

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1. Introduction
The energy demand is increasing every day and almost all industries are trying their best
to come up to make their products more energy efficient and scientists are looking for new
sources to harness energy. Keeping this in mind, when we think of the gas being burnt away in
the thin air just because there is no storage facility (no available market) or transportation
infrastructure(not economically sound) available, it is quite outrageous. But the sad part during
oil and gas operation that it is the next best option we have than venting which is letting the
natural gas out in the atmosphere and it does more harm than flaring.
So, with all this wasted natural gas, should we be worried? According to CERES 2013
report, In 2012 alone, flaring resulted in the loss of approximately $1 billion in fuel and the
GHG emissions equivalent of adding one million cars to the road. With the drilling for crude oil
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there are three main components that we get; crude oil, natural gas and water. The crude oil is
sent for processing, the water is either treated or disposed and natural gas.

1.1 Are We Running Out of Energy? Why?

We harness energy from two kinds of resources; renewable and non-renewable resources.
Crude oil and natural gas falls under non-renewable resources. Under the renewable sources,
there are solar, hydropower, wind, etc. We indeed are running out of non-renewable resources so
we are trying to generate as much energy as we can from renewable resources. Lets dig a little
deeper into the how quickly are we running out energy.

Figure 1. The above figure shows that the duration the four most popular non-renewable
resources used to produce energy. (source: www.visualcapitalist.com)
According to the CIA fact book, 65.3% of the total energy produced in the world came
from fossil fuels in 2012. It is clear that the world understands that the fossil fuel dominated, 1.5
trillion US dollar worth industry (Goldemberg, 2006) wont last forever. With the EIA
(Environment Information Administration) estimating an average 1.1% rate of energy
consumption growth as of 2007, the complete last year of fossil fuel is creeping up closer every
year, given that the population is also increasing 1.1% per annum (as of 2016). Thus it is logical
to say that the energy consumption will also keep increasing too.

1.2 Some back of the envelope calculation.

266,000 mcfd x

30 days 12 month
x
=95,760,000 mcfyr . This is the gas flared in 2011
1 month 1 year

for ND.

350 E mcfd x

30 days 12 month
9
x
=126 E bcfyr . This is the gas flared in 2014 for ND.
1 month
1 year

There was 6.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent from fracking wells in North Dakota from 2005
to 2012 from the total of 100 million from the whole of US. So thats a 6.5% of the total
emission from 28 coal-fired power plants equivalent.
Researchers recorded that the average fracked well produced 110,000 pounds during the first
9 days of operation.
That would mean from 2005 to 2012, there was 31.23 million pounds of methane was
released by US from frack well operations. It is seen that in a 100 year timeframe methane has
25 times the heat trapping ability than CO2.1

1.3 The Bakken

The Bakken covers an area of about 200,000 sq. miles consisting of mainly three layers. It
stretches mostly in North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Canada). Located in
the Williston Basin, USGS estimated as of 2008, that there is about 3.65 billion barrels of oil.

Figure 2. The three layers of the Bakken formation in the Williston Basin.

1.4 The Boom

It all began way back in 1995 when AAPG (American Association of Petroleum
Geologists) member and geologist, J.W. Nordquist hypothesized that there would be a good
chance of fining oil in the Mid Bakken formation due to the good porosity of the layer.2
1 Federal Register, Environmental Protection Agency, 40 CFR Part 98, 2013 Revisions to the
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule and Proposed Confidentiality Determinations for New or
Substantially Revised Data Elements; Proposed Rule, 78(63): 19802-19877, 2 April 2013.
2 http://www.aapg.org/publications/news/explorer/emphasis/articleid/2345/newusgs-bakken-assessment-on-its-way
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Production starting from 2000, really started gaining worldwide attention around 200708, with the great jump in production, ND boasted a 29% GDP above the national average
among other states.3
Some reasons due to which this boom occurred were; of course, the finding of huge shale
gas reserves in US, to reduce dependence from some OPEC countries such as countries in the
Middle East and Venezuela, the technological advances in the form of hydraulic fracking.
Around 2015, production rate took a big slump. Oil prices had hit record low. It was
simply because the supply of oil had surpassed the over demand. Seeing USs progress in
production as a threat to Saudi Arabias market, they flooded the market. And a stronger dollar
meant, itd be more expensive for countries to buy oil from the US, resulting in overall loss in
demand.

Figure 3 Production was healthy up until early 2015

1.5 Concerns about Fracking

To extract oil out of the low permeable Bakken shale, a process called hydraulic fracking
is used which creates fractures to increase permeability of the rock for easier extraction. High
pressure is induced in a mixture of sand, water and chemicals to push the hydro carbons and gas
up to the surface. A study done in Wyoming found that there were increase levels of ozone
increase a fracturing site and found methane in the water well near natural gas wells. People
3 http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=12071
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living near these wells have complained about headaches, disorientation, fainting and ill animals.
There have been reports of family members have developed cancer and other chronic diseases
from consuming contaminated water or the gas itself as a result of extraction. 4
Clean ground water is also at risk because of the frack fluids used in hydraulic fracking
that may leech into. Around the sites, the workers health is also at direct threat as well.4
According to World Bank, it was estimated that in 2011 5.3 trillion cu. ft. of natural gas
was flared per annum which was mostly from the developing nations. Surprisingly that is 25% of
the total consumption of US.

1.6 Flaring in US

Figure 4. Although there has been a clear drop in decrease in flaring since the beginning but in the
past 10 years it has grown.

1.7 Flaring in the North Dakota

44 http://thenationshealth.aphapublications.org/content/42/2/1.2.full
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Figure 5. It is well evident that the spike in Fig. 5 is the reason of the increase in flaring in Fig.4

With the oil boom in North Dakota come economic prosperity for the region and the
United States export of sweet crude oil. With every oil boom comes environmental impacts,
impacts that cause pollutants to the hydrological environment, ecosystem, and air quality.
Drilling for the sweet crude oil in the Bakken formation comes with many problems. One of the
problems is the amount of natural gas that is being release from being trapped for millions of
years under pressure.
When areas that are lacking infrastructure for the transportation of natural gas from wells,
the industry tends to burn off excess gas in the means of waste or unusable gas. The oil boom
happened so fast that the state didnt have any pipeline developed yet. The results would be to
burn the excess off. The flaring may be flared from a stack or an earthen pit, like the picture
below. Millions of dollars worth of natural gas is flared off North Dakota.

Figure 1: Ground Pit flaring in the Bakken ND

Figure 2: Stack Flaring in the Bakken ND

2.1 Why Flair?

This is done due to the cost of producing it into a sustainable natural gas for
transportation is much higher than burning it off. In one month of revenues from crude oil
production was worth 2.2 billion, and for the natural gas burn off was 266,000 million cubic
feet per day. Thats roughly 8 million cubic feet per month, thats 108 million lost in revenue
each month. That amount doesnt put a dent into the gross revenue from crude oil that is
produced. Burning of natural gas isnt very economic and is cheaper to burn. There is currently
only one refinery in North Dakota and a second one being built in Dickenson ND.
According to the Bloomberg results, the United States has enough natural gas reserves
estimated to be 890 trillion cubic feet that will last the U.S. around 40 years of fuel with the
current standard of use of energy. In the Bakken oil fields current flaring will be on 18 thousand
square miles of land. As of currently there are as many as 7,600 oil wells drilled in the Bakken
oil fields, by 2030 there will be as many as 50,000 wells drilled in the Bakken. That will be 52
million cubic feet per month being burnt off. That is estimated to be around 700 million dollars
lost in revenue if nothing is dont about the infrastructure of transportation of natural gas.

2.2 Effects of Flaring

The impacts of flaring in North Dakota has a global effect due to the hazards associated
with the emissions released during the flaring. According to studies done in other countries such
as Canada and Niger just to name a few, flaring has had a negative impact on the environment in
which we live on. Improper flaring has had an effect on migratory birds in New Brunswick
Canada. There were 7,500 song birds were attracted to and killed by the flaring, other incidents
have occurred on offshore and other places around the world. Killing off insects such as moths or

bees will also have an impact on the pollination of plants and flowers. Eliminating the ecosystem
of within the boundaries of drilling and flaring of natural gas.
The amount of flaring being done around the world has had a huge impact on the globe
by producing very harmful organic compounds such as benzene, xylene, sulfur dioxide, sulfur
compounds, and aromatic hydrocarbons. These compounds have be known to cause respiratory
problems in Niger and have had affects close to and around the boundary of that country. These
compounds also have carcinogenic properties leading to types of cancer in the body.
According to the some reports as of the end of 2011 about 490 billion cubic feet of gas
has been flared around the world. The Bakken has contributed 0.2 percent of that total, thats still
significant number of gas flared when compared to the rest of the world. This is a huge
significant source of carbon dioxide emissions release into the atmosphere. So far we know that
the potential hazards of flaring are dangerous and have impacts on the environment. Each
environment depends on each other for support, earth, water, and air all are connected. When one
is polluted the other will feel the effects. The table below will show the effect of each being
polluted by flaring in North Dakota.
https://www.rt.com/business/america-gas-burn-flaring-735/
Table 1:

Risk and Potential Hazards of Flaring in North Dakota

Flaring

Water Pollution

Air Pollution

Ecosystem

Release of

Acid rain on

benzene, xylene

killing of

VOCs

surface/ground
unnatural heat
water

sulfur dioxide,
aromatic hydrocarbons,
carbon dioxide,

Non-chemical hazards
light given off

insects/wild life,
migratory birds
not leaving

methane.
Not all natural gas is turned into carbon dioxide during flaring. Methane the most
common type of gas escapes from time to time from mechanical leaks, this is 20-30 times more
dangerous and harmful to the environment and atmosphere that carbon dioxide. It is a better
insulator than carbon dioxide, it traps global heat in and keeps it from escaping. This in case
helps raise the earths temperature over time and helps global warming evolve. This fugitive gas
methane is the main component in natural gas, its life cycle is 86 times stronger than just natural
gas through out a 20 years life cycle. However it is just one part in thousands of hazardous
components that come along with the dangers of flaring. Emissions of burning off the natural gas
comes with lower emissions and less complex compounds, that saying that it may be the lessor
of the evils, however its still part of that group.

Fossil Fuel Emission Levels Pounds per Billion Btu of

Energy Input
Pollutant
Natural Gas Oil
Coal
Carbon Dioxide
117,000
164,00
208,00
0
0
Carbon Monoxide
40
33
208
Nitrogen Oxides
92
448
457
Sulfur Dioxide
1
1,122
2,591
Particulates
7
84
2,744
Mercury
0
0.007
0.016
Source: EIA Natural Gas Issues and Trends
1998
Table 2: Pollutants due to flaring, Source naturalgas.org
Greenhouse gases most common compounds:

water vapor
carbon dioxide
methane
nitrogen oxides
Chlorofluorocarbons

These gases help regulate the heat and most appear naturally, however they have been
increasing due to the burning of fossil fuels. Mitigating these compounds should be a favored
plan in the future of mankind, if it to survive. Carbon is the biggest makeup of emissions from
flaring, it should be our first choice to make way for it to be used as an energy source instead of
burning it off and sending pollutants into the atmosphere.
In burning off natural gas we are enabling our own demise, such releasing of compounds for
a long period of time will have a devastating effect on the planets temperature and global
warming will be evident in all cases and no one will be able to deny such a thing exist. A pie
chart of how much emissions are release from hydrocarbons.

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Figure 3: Greenhouse emissions, source naturalgas.org

Although methane live in the atmosphere for it lifetime of 12 years, carbon dioxide live
in the atmosphere for 50-200 years. That span is huge compared to 12 years of methane. So
which is more deadly for the environment, methane which is 20-30 more dangerous to the air
quality than carbon dioxide, however it lives longer in the atmosphere far longer. By
accumulation of both adding every day of each to the atmosphere is devastating the planet. We
are adding both faster now than ever before, each cannot diminish faster then what we are
pumping out.
The Bakken flaring has wasted 2 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
every year. However it has cut back the flaring process due to a downturn in the oil and gas
production. The gluttony of crude oil spilled onto markets and flooded it. This cause a production
cut for crude oil and the lack of drilling in North Dakota. A lot of flaring is due to the upstream
part of production in the drilling phase of extraction. To control the pressure that is exerted on
the formation, it releases the natural gas and that is mitigated by being disposed of in the means
of flaring. When there is no means of transporting the natural gas. Purging this supply allows the
extraction and completion of a well.

3.1 Rules and Regulations

In the Bakken the EPA and the state of North Dakota Industrial Commissions has set
standards for the flaring to be permitted. Each single well or well pad with numerous wells on it
will have to have a pit flare stack or standing stack to which it will be readily available to be 90
% efficiently rate. Meaning that the flare stack should be easy be able to destroy the molecules at
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a 90% rate, not allowing the more than 10% of organic compounds to escape undestroyed. This
is done to have complete control for new wells being in place. Each well must not exceed the
maximum of a 20% visible emissions or flaring. Except if it has too much pressure build up then
it can exceed that for 6 minutes at a rate of 60% per single burn per hour.
The lack of infrastructure for treatment plants in North Dakota is a big cause in flaring
today in the Bakken, no other oil formation in the United States is flared as much as it is. Flaring
in North Dakota is so massive that the light can be seen from space and looks as though it is a
giant city area when in fact it is a rural area of the States. He is a picture that is worth a thousand
words.

BAKKEN

MINNEAPO

CHICAGO

Figure 4: Flaring from the Bakken Oil Fields Lights,

Source: Energy and Environmental Research (EERC)

4.1 Ways to decrease flaring

Finding a new way of mitigating that waste of natural gas is a must option with all the
pollutants being release without viable use. The flaring will not stop, companies will find ways to
go the cheapest and most economical route for their selves. By capturing the natural gas it would
be an economical advantage and it will also mitigate the waste that is going on. There are ways
to help in doing so.
The Bakken oil field is a huge economic opportunities for those willing to jump in and
get their hands dirty making money and reducing waste by flaring. It will create jobs, help reduce
the impact of flaring on environmental ecosystems, and create more domestic energy supply for
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the United States. There are no magic wishes that can take away all the bad pollutants that comes
with natural gas emissions. This is a common sense thing to do, the larger companies who do
flare are producing the United States largest source of carbon dioxide emissions along with other
harmful compounds that escape into the atmosphere.

Figure 5: Source of wasted natural gas, courtesy of Venkataramana Gadhamshetty report on the
Bakken

There are ways to capture the natural gas and turn it into a marketed very valued
commodity. Building a strong infrastructure to do so is still a ways out. Needing pipelines,
refineries, and or onsite facilities allowing for transportation from site to refinery. In most cases
the onsite facility would work by turning raw natural gas into a sustainable liquid for
transportation Onsite facilities are a great way to transport the natural gas out to the refineries.
Onsite facilities turn the natural gas into a form of transporting it, its turned into a liquid form.
From the drilling, to fracking, and finally to the extraction part of the process, the final
production phase natural gas is present. Turning it into a liquid phase takes a treater that
separates the oil, water and gas. Then the next phase will remove the unwanted water from the
oil. Next will be the sulfur and carbon dioxide removal. Then the phase of natural gas to a liquid
phase will be done last. The shipping of natural gas at the location will greatly decrease the
amount of methane, Carbon dioxide, and other VOCs emitted into the atmosphere.
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Onsite Facility Process, Natural Gas to Pipeline

Dry gas quality levels will be more complex this this, however these are the four steps involved.

Treater

Water

Oil/Gas

Removal

Separato
r

Sulfur and
Carbon
Dioxide
Removal

Separation
of Natural
Gas
Liquids

Diagram

5.1 Final Destination

The ultimate goal in mitigating the waste of natural gas being burned away is to use the
natural gas as a source for energy. To use this source is to lessen the effects on the ecosystem of
the grasslands of North Dakota. With each well drilled, new volumes of gas will be used to
create jobs, economic stability, and cleaner energy for the United States instead of burning coal.
However finding a new source of energy for the supply and demand of countries is still a ways
out. Realistically natural gas is the answer to a lot of questions on how to proceed with which
energy source we should use. It is the lessor of the evils as of now, building an infrastructure to
the states that flare the most would benefit our economy in the United States and elsewhere that
depend on fossil fuels for energy.

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Figure 6. Compared to the US, Russia needs to limit their flaring given that US produces natural gas
more than Russia.

6.1 Conclusion
Flaring indeed is a complete waste of precious natural resources. There is a dire need of new
infrastruce in terms of refineneries and pipeline to make good use of it. Or might as well use it in
the operation in some form. Although better than venting, it still has negative impact on air,
water, environment and eventually on us. In the short term we the govt. can make as many rules
and regulation as they want but it will still keep affecting lives. Flaring in ND is just 2.3% of the
problem but all around the world its a bigger deal. Energy is a precious resource and that too
from a form of fossil fuel. Its a shame that we are burning all away. It may be cost effective to
do so but in the long term it affects a lot of lives. Can we put a price tag on that? The big oil
giants will keep doing what they do to keep minting profit. And probably have the politicians on
their side too. We are in true need of a scientific breakthrough to attend this problem. It is easier
said than done but as general public we feel helpless and when we protest, for instance the
NODAPL ones, we are attacked. You could imagine the amount of revenue generated by these
oil companies when a loss of $108 million doesnt put a dent when they just burn gas away. The
burning of natural gas leads to release of methane into the atmosphere along with other harmful
gasses like CO, NO and SO2. The govt. should tax more and should set stricter minimum air
quality standards. Maybe well see something like CO2 sequestration for the more harmful gases.
All in all, things are improving and hopefully in our generation or the next we will have flaring
free oil and gas operation.
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Work Cited
"Gas Flare." Gas Flare | Open Access Articles | Open Access Journals | Conference
Proceedings | Editors | Authors | Reviewers | Scientific Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov.
2016.
Jossi, Frank. "Fuel Added to Flaring Fight in North Dakota." Midwest Energy News. N.p.,
2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
@RT_com. "The Crude Truth: American Drillers Burn $100 Million worth of Natural
Gas into Thin Air." RT International. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
"Oil & Gas." Air Quality - North Dakota Department of Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov.
2016.
"Gas Flare." Gas Flare | Open Access Articles | Open Access Journals | Conference
Proceedings | Editors | Authors | Reviewers | Scientific Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov.
2016.
Gadhamshetty, Venkataramana, Namita Shrestha, Govinda Chilkoor, and Jejal Reddy
Bathi. "Emerging Environmental Impacts of Unconventional Oil Development in the
Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin of Western North Dakota." N.p., 15 Dec. 2015.
Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
OnePetro. "Field Development Strategies for Bakken Shale Formation." Field
Development Strategies for Bakken Shale Formation - OnePetro. Society of Petroleum
Engineers, 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
Kindzierski, Warren B. "Environmental Reviews." Importance of Human Environmental
Exposure to Hazardous Air Pollutants from Gas Flares - Environmental Reviews. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

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