July 2, 2014
Oil & Gas Journal
North Dakota operators that fail to meet the state’s flaring reduction targets may soon be forced to curtail oil production from wells targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations, according to an order issued July 1 by state regulators.
The order is the enforcement mechanism for the state’s flaring reduction plan, which was approved in March by the North Dakota Industrial Commission.
Beginning Oct. 1, wells in the state could be subject to potential production curtailments if the amount of flared gas exceeds the state’s gas capture target.
Speaking to a press conference on July 1, Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Oil and Gas Division, said most Bakken operators are already in compliance with the flaring reduction targets. But, “there’s some, a handful, that are really going to need a lot of wellsite technology.”