A Possible Solution to Flaring Gas Issue in the Bakken -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

A project is under way in North Dakota to test using flare gas instead of diesel fuel to power drilling rigs, said the state's top oil and gas regulator.

"We have been pouring money into every kind of project that we can think of to capture that gas and use it. The newest one is we're going to test this fall, is using it to power drilling rigs instead of using diesel fuel. It looks like there's a lot of potential," said Lynn Helms, Bismarck, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Helms said the new drilling rigs use Caterpillar diesel engines.

"These new computer-controlled Caterpillar diesel engines can feed natural gas directly into the engines. There isn't a whole lot that has to be done to the engine to burn pipeline gas," Helms told members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce's Energy Committee recently.

Again, this short article is full of data points:

• The obvious
• The Bakken, again, is the test ground for new technology
• For investors, note the diesel engine that 's being used: American-made
• And finally, another example of all the issues on Lynn Helms' desk -- I continue to feel good about the NDIC