American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015 - 130

ConventionCoverage: North Dakota Petroleum Council
will happen, even if specific activities
are not spelled out in a right-of-way
agreement, Goehring said.
"It could be as simple as a gate left
open or the correct vegetation being planted," he said. "The things a farmer may
take for granted may not be in the job list
given to a contractor. Without follow
through, problems can surface."
The ombudsman program has reviewed
20 cases since it was formed in April,
Goehring mentioned. He said landowners
could contact the Agriculture Department
to request assistance, and following an inspection, the department would work with
the pipeline operator to resolve the issue.
Service Recognition
At the Chairman's Banquet, NDPC
Director Kathleen Neset, whose many
appearances at community events, regulatory hearings and schools earned her
recognition and respect across the state,
was honored by being named to the
NDPC Hall of Fame.
"As a successful businesswoman, a

committed teacher, and a dedicated public
servant, Kathleen is a role model for
women and men alike," said NDPC President Ness. "She is an invaluable member
of our organization and industry, but
more important, she is a tremendous asset
for our state."
Trained as a geologist, Neset operates
Neset Consulting, a well-site geology
contractor. She has served on the NDPC
Board of Directors for 13 years, is a member of several other boards, and speaks
about the Bakken and American's shale
expansion at a variety of national events.
The council also feted Duane Jesch
and state Representative George Keiser,
R-Bismarck, with the organization's annual Outstanding Public Service Award.
Jesch of MBI Services is 40-year veteran
of oil field services as a driver and salesman.
He continues to do volunteer work for
NDPC and the Dickinson API Chapter,
and was honored for "going beyond his
normal duties to build relationships between
the industry and public, and improving
industry's image," Ness noted.

Representative Keiser served 22 years
in the state House of Representatives,
where he chaired the Industry, Business
and Labor Committee and was a member
of the Natural Resources Committee.
As an elected official, the value of
Keiser's service "cannot be underestimated," Ness said. "He succeeds by pushing through bureaucracy and working for
better government with oversight rather
than control."
Ness said Keiser's work was integral
to passing many bills important to NDPC,
including legislation creating the North
Dakota Pipeline Authority and the Western
Area Water System, and the Pipeline
Footprint bill, which Ness said was considered to be the first in the nation to
map gathering systems. A U.S. Army
veteran, Keiser owns a printing company
and served on the Bismarck City Commission.
Citing Keiser's support for "common
sense government," Ness thanked the
legislator "for his role in growing our
economy and jobs."
❒

North Dakota Studies Gathering System
FARGO, N.D.-Following several
highly visible produced water spills,
state government officials grew concerned about a lack of oversight for
thousands of miles of gathering pipeline
that stitched together nine oil producing
counties of western North Dakota. A
response that was scientifically sound
and independent was needed, said Eric
Dillé, government relations director at
EOG Resources and vice chairman of
the North Dakota Petroleum Council
Board of Directors.
During an early session of the NDPC's
annual meeting in September, Dillé welcomed Jay Almlie, a senior researcher at
the Energy and Environment Research
Center (EERC) at the University of North
Dakota. Almlie detailed how HB 1358, a
bill passed in the 2015 legislative session,
commissioned a $1.5 million study into
pipeline gathering systems.
The study's first phase gathered information on construction standards,
depths, materials, monitoring systems,
maintenance practices, and spill history,
Almlie imparted. A report is due to be
released Dec. 1.
Later, Lynn Helms, director of the
Department of Mineral Resources, said

HB 1358 also allocated $500,000 to study
remediation techniques for treating legacy
disposal pits, among other things.
In addition to the pipeline and reme-

130 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Phase one of the Energy and Environment Research Center at the University
of North Dakota's study of North Dakota's
pipeline gathering systems is focused
on construction, maintenance and spill
history, EERC senior researcher Jay Almlie tells the North Dakota Petroleum
Council.

diation studies, the bill allocates funds
for remediating abandoned wells where
needed, allows surface owners to request
a hearing before the North Dakota Industrial Commission to review temporarily abandoned status for wells shut in
for seven years, and allows NDIC to release data regarding fluid volumes for
an injection well under confidential
status and/or release spill report information following a spill of 10 barrels or
more, even if the well is on confidential
status.
Gathering Study
In the gathering study, Almlie told
NDPC, gathering systems are defined
as pipe that connects well sites to aggregation points such as a refinery or
terminal. He said the EERC found the
amount of operational gathering lines
had increased by 18 percent in four
years. Since August 2011, 4,102 miles
of gathering lines have been installed in
North Dakota (see Table 1), increasing
total gathering systems to 23,000 miles
of pipe.
Almlie noted that EERC found that
of newly installed gathering lines, 58
percent were for transporting crude oil,

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015

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