Taxcutter
04-22-2013, 12:13 PM
All oil wells produce a certain amount of natural gas as a by-product. The Bakken oil fields in North Dakota are no exception.
In the Southwest and Gulf of Mexico, this gas is captured, processed, and sent by pipeline for sale.
But the Bakken oil fields are not served by pipelines. The light,sweet (highly desirable) oil is shipped by rail to refineries. Yeah, we are back to the early 1870s in that respect. But natural gas cannot be shipped by rail. To prevent blowout (like the BP accident) the gas has to be flared off. You can’t just vent it as it contains hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell and very toxic).
How big is the problem? Check this out.
http://www.ceres.org/industry-initiatives/oil-and-gas/gas-flares-from-space
That is A LOT of gas being wasted. And that is a lot of money. Natural gas sells for $3.50 to $4.25 per 1000 standard cubic feet on the NYMEX.
Is there a solution? Of course. Get the government out of the way so that pipelines can be built from the northern plains to existing natural gas infrastructure further south. With pipelines (and natural gas processing plants) in place the flaring would cease and clean natural gas would be steadily available in the US for domestic use and for export.
As usual, the Obama junta is in the way.
In the Southwest and Gulf of Mexico, this gas is captured, processed, and sent by pipeline for sale.
But the Bakken oil fields are not served by pipelines. The light,sweet (highly desirable) oil is shipped by rail to refineries. Yeah, we are back to the early 1870s in that respect. But natural gas cannot be shipped by rail. To prevent blowout (like the BP accident) the gas has to be flared off. You can’t just vent it as it contains hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell and very toxic).
How big is the problem? Check this out.
http://www.ceres.org/industry-initiatives/oil-and-gas/gas-flares-from-space
That is A LOT of gas being wasted. And that is a lot of money. Natural gas sells for $3.50 to $4.25 per 1000 standard cubic feet on the NYMEX.
Is there a solution? Of course. Get the government out of the way so that pipelines can be built from the northern plains to existing natural gas infrastructure further south. With pipelines (and natural gas processing plants) in place the flaring would cease and clean natural gas would be steadily available in the US for domestic use and for export.
As usual, the Obama junta is in the way.