N.D. to explore waste gas for power

BISMARCK (AP) — Part of a North Dakota research fund will be used to explore whether wasted natural gas can generate electricity for oil producers.

Many oil wells also produce natural gas. In some areas of western North Dakota there’s no way to transport the gas to market, so it’s burned at the well head in a process called flaring.

North Dakota’s Industrial Commission is spending $375,000 to see whether a company can use raw gas to fuel a portable electric generator. State mineral resources director Lynn Helms said oil companies can use the power, and rural electric cooperatives could buy any surplus power if they wished.

Helms said if the idea works, it will cut down on wasted natural gas and help increase oil production.

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