Natural Gas Flaring Increases in Bakken Region, an Industrial Info Market Brief

Companies drilling in the Bakken formation continue to flare gas due to a shortfall in pipeline takeaway capacity. Without available takeaway transportation, and with the drop in natural gas prices (down 17% for the year), companies are flaring natural gas associated with capturing crude oil. The lack of gas processing facilities in the area also contributed to the increase in flaring. In the fourth quarter of 2018, flared natural gas in the Bakken reached a record 520 million standard cubic feet per day.