Improving utilization of associated gas in US tight oil fields

The document evaluates technical and commercial viability for several associated gas utilization technologies in US tight oil fields. It identifies gas gathering, CNG trucking, NGL recovery, gas-to-power, and Mini-GTL MT as technologies that pass initial screening, while gas reinjection, Mini-LNG, Mini-GTL FT, and ammonia production are rejected due to scale, maturity, or economic constraints. The report provides detailed technical specifications, cost models, and case studies for these options, specifically focusing on the Bakken region of North Dakota.

• Gas gathering is a proven technology internationally for tight oil and shale gas, capable of reducing CO2 and VOC emissions at the flare by 85-100%.
• CNG trucking is a mature option for associated gas utilization with 98% availability, though marketing the resulting rich CNG product is described as a "big challenge".
• NGL recovery technologies, including mechanical and cryogenic units, are mature but rarely deployed in tight oil operations; they can achieve VOC emission reductions between 50% and 99%.
• Gas-to-power systems are mature and can achieve CO2 and VOC emission reductions of approximately 98% when exporting to the grid, with significant fuel savings possible through diesel substitution.
• Mini-GTL MT (non-catalytic partial oxidation) is ready for commercialization and can eliminate 89% of original CO2 emissions by producing pure CO2 as a secondary by-product.
• Gas reinjection was rejected for tight oil fields because these wells do not overlap in scale or location with depleted reservoirs, and the low permeability of tight oil formations presents technical challenges.
• Mini-LNG was rejected because it is still in the early stages of accommodating associated gas, lacks pilot deployment in tight oil fields, and has limited portability.
• Mini-GTL FT was rejected because it is not portable and is better suited for large supplies of lean gas rather than the scale of tight oil fields.
• Ammonia production was rejected because the technology has not reached maturity at a small scale and would increase on-site CO2 emissions compared to flaring.
• In North Dakota, the Bison Midstream natural gas gathering system utilizes 330 miles of pipeline with an average daily throughput of 17,000 Mcf per day.

APA

Pederstad, A., Gallardo, M., & Saunier, S. (2015). Improving utilization of associated gas in US tight oil fields. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094434/CATF_Pub_PuttingOuttheFire_Appendix.pdf

Chicago

Pederstad, Anders, Martin Gallardo, and Stephanie Saunier. Improving utilization of associated gas in US tight oil fields. Clean Air Task Force, 2015. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094434/CATF_Pub_PuttingOuttheFire_Appendix.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pederstad |first1=Anders |last2=Gallardo |first2=Martin |last3=Saunier |first3=Stephanie |title=Improving utilization of associated gas in US tight oil fields |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=April 2015 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094434/CATF_Pub_PuttingOuttheFire_Appendix.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pederstad2015improving, author = {Pederstad, Anders and Gallardo, Martin and Saunier, Stephanie}, title = {{Improving utilization of associated gas in US tight oil fields}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2015}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/21094434/CATF_Pub_PuttingOuttheFire_Appendix.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }