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Oil company receives 6-month flaring exemption

The state Industrial Commission has approved a six month natural gas flaring exemption for an oil company – due to that company’s inability to get some wells connected to a gas gathering pipeline.

It affects several wells in Dunn County.

State mineral resources director Lynn Helms says OneOK – a natural gas processing company – has been unable to get a pipeline easement on a tract of land on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

"It's a very significant pipeline," said Helms. "It would carry 40 million cubic feet a day."

Helms says the company had proposed re-routing the pipeline – but it could not get right-of-way on some federal land.

"So Plan C ended up being the one they're going with, which is to build a new gas plant, and route the gas in a different direction," said Helms.

That plant would be built near Killdeer.

Helms says that’s an 18-month delay.

The oil company – Occidental Petroleum – had asked for an 18 month exemption. But Helms says the company can come back to the Industrial Commission after that first six months is over – and ask for a further exemption.

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