American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2018 - 103

Petroleum Council, points out infrastructure
limitations on capturing the associated
natural gas act as a cap on production.
"North Dakota is adding all this infrastructure and capacity, but gas capture
remains a continuous challenge," he
says. "It is on the mind of every producer
every day. It has become a big part of
their gas management-structuring their
completions and activities. North Dakota
needs more natural gas infrastructure.
As fast as companies build those
pipelines and facilities, it seems producers fill them."
The state continues to see tremendous
investments in oil and gas facilities,
with many companies planning to expand their operations even before construction is complete, Ness relates. Several companies are experimenting with
pilot tests on gas injection for enhanced
oil recovery, artificial lift equipment
powered by gas, and other ways to use
natural gas on the well site or in the
field, he says.
North Dakota also has a tremendous
workforce challenge, he notes. When
companies successfully used horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the
Bakken Shale more than a decade ago,
the lightly populated state was able to
draw rig crews and field workers from
other states where jobs were scarce.
"But today the economy across the
country is booming," Ness describes.
"The national unemployment rate averages 3 percent, and North Dakota's
unemployment rate is around 2 percent.
The state is struggling to find people
to add to rig crews. But the state is
humming along with better infrastructure, so I assume that will mean we
will see some additional technology
improvements in order to do more with
fewer people."
Ness reports the state is considering
participating in worker trainer programs
to help fill those gaps. He points out
most of North Dakota's population lives
along the eastern border, while the Bakken
lies in western counties. State leaders
also are talking about how best to entice
workers to migrate to North Dakota, with
proposals to improve retail opportunities,
schools and family health care among
the options on the table, he says.
Pipelines
State projections show that if North
Dakota is to support its oil production, it
must almost double its gas take-away capacity by 2020, NDPC Vice President
Kari Cutting says. During the past several
years, companies have spent in the range
SEE NORTH DAKOTA PAGE 129

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2018

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