The big gas flare off in North Dakota

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Uppe till vänster (inringat) ser man ljuset från the Bakken Formation i North Dakota och de brinnande gaslågorna.

This NASA satellite image shows how the gas being burned off at the Bakken oil field in North Dakota is almost as bright as the light emitted from major U.S. cities such as Minneapolis-St Paul and Chicago

The rapid increase in shale oil production means it is now often more economical to 'flare off' unwanted gas than to sell it.
As a result, one field in North Dakota, the state leading the energy revolution, is now burning off enough gas to power all the homes in Chicago and Washington D.C. combined.

In a recently released satellite image from NASA, the light being given off at the Bakken formation, almost twice the size of Wales, easily competes in intensity with that being emitted from those cities.

The volume of gas going up in flames at the plant rose by around 50 per cent last year alone in a practice that is causing growing concern about the waste of resources and the impact on the environment, according to the Financial Times.

This flaring off-trend has spread to Texas and made the US one of the world´s worst offenders.

Skifferolja produceras i stora mängder i North Dakota närmare 660 000 fat om dagen, men även i Texas är produktionen stor. Skiffergasen kan ses som en parallell biprodukt vid oljeutvinningen och har blivit så stor att det inte längre finns någon lönsamhet att ta vara på den, inte ens för inhemsk produktion.                     

Därför bränner man av den, eller eldar upp den med konsekvenser för miljön då det bildas koldioxid när man eldar naturgas. 

Men, nu börjar ändå de borrande oljebolagen så sakta att vakna upp och ta till vara på naturgasen. Ett steg i rätt riktning är väl ett understatement.