North Dakota oil producers face a new flaring reduction standard January first.
But the state’s top oil regulator says it may be a tough standard to meet – because of unforeseen circumstances.
The new standard says at least 85 percent of the natural gas has to be captured. That limits flaring to 15 percent. But some wells are still waiting to be connected to gas gathering lines – and companies have been asking for flaring rule exemptions because of that.
"That could be a very difficult 9 months between January One of 2016 and September 30th of '16," said State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms.
Helms says there’s been some discussion about delaying the implementation of the new 85 percent rule.
"We really don't want to get into that in any serious way, until we see how this summer's construction season goes," said Helms. "We also want to see what happens because of the big drop in rig count."
Helms also says he wants to see what happens with non-completed wells, as they come on line.
"Hopefully those could be postponed," said Helms. "That could help even out the gas production, to relieve some of the situation."
The state’s rules on capturing natural gas have led to installation of more on-site remote units.
The gas is captured and used on well sites to power equipment.
"We have really seen an enormous growth in that area," said Helms. "We have almost 350 of those units operating now."
Helms says those units are normally installed at well sites that have not yet been connected to gas gathering lines.