The North Dakota Industrial Commission today approved a proposal by EOG Resources aimed at eliminating flaring of produced natural gas and possibly enhancing oil recovery. 

Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, said EOG plans to use on-site compression to inject produced gas when conditions develop that would otherwise require that the gas be flared.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said EOG previously conducted a similar experiment in Parshall field, but he said the underground rock formations were too tight, requiring more pressure than could be supplied to inject the gas. He said the proposal approved today is different because it involves a multi-well pad with lots of available compression, and it is located in Clark's Creek field near Mandaree where the rock should be more receptive to gas injection.

Click here to listen to Helms' comments.

Helms said it's encouraging that Bakken producers continue to seek methods to capture more oil from the formations, and pursue efforts to eliminate gas flaring. He said his department could learn a lot from the EOG project because the Industrial Commission's approval requires that the company share results of its experiment.

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