WASHINGTON (AP) — An oil and natural gas field in the western United States is largely responsible for a global uptick of the air pollutant ethane, according to a new study. The team led by researchers at the University of Michigan found that fossil fuel production at the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Montana is emitting roughly 2 percent ...

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) has requested that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) complete an updated study assessing the amount of recoverable oil and gas reserves locked away in the Williston Basin. As reported by the Forum News Service (FNS), Hoeven made the request to Dr. Suzette Kimball, who was nominated to become the director of the USGS. She said ...

WILLISTON, N.D. — An oil industry company is trying to establish a biological process in which oil-eating bacteria are used to clean up a spill with the help of a Williston-based research center. Rick Reese, founder and CEO of Colorado-based Compliant Resources, calls his method aggressive bioremediation instead of land farming, a similar concept, mainly because it’s seen limited success. ...

Oil prices have continued on a downward slide, but production in the Bakken and Eagle Ford Shale formations increased slightly between June and July, reports the Houston Chronicle. According to Bentek Energy, an energy market analytics company, oil production in North Dakota’s Bakken continued to pump over 1.2 million barrels per day in July, up by about 500 daily barrels ...

Hess Corp.’s overall production in the second quarter increased by 23 percent to 391,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), thanks in part to the company’s substantial assets in the Bakken, reports Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI). During a conference call on Wednesday addressing quarterly results, Hess CEO John Hess said operations were affected by high expenses and low oil ...

The North Dakota Industrial Commission has ordered Idaho-based Alturas Energy to pay $900,000 for violating a variety of state rules governing the oil and gas industry. The company was notified in April by the commission that it had unlawfully abandoned wells and equipment, didn’t report spills nor clean them up, and violated other reporting requirements. The violations began in July ...

What’s the difference between the Bakken and Saudi Arabia’s largest oil reserve? About 50 billion barrels and 13,000 square miles, reports Bloomberg Business. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producing country, and its Ghawar oil field is a daunting prospect for many U.S. shale oil drillers. Ghawar is the largest conventional oil reserve in the world, and its narrow, deep ...

Energy firms pulled three rigs from U.S. oil fields this week, the smallest drop in five weeks, data showed on Friday, a sign the collapse in drilling is coming to an end as crude prices recovered after falling 60 percent from last June to March. It was the 29th straight weekly decline, bringing the total down to 628, the lowest ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — Tribal leaders from an oil-prolific portion of North Dakota’s Fort Berthold Reservation say they can’t count on federal or state regulators — or their own tribal government — to monitor the boom, so they are moving to do it themselves. Industry officials question whether the tribe has the jurisdiction to impose such rules and warned the change ...

WILLISTON, N.D. — Officials have completed a project intended to separate local and regional traffic on a section of U.S. Highway 2 in the bustling oil patch hub of Williston. The $15 million project paid for with state money provides an overpass for regional traffic and an underpass for local traffic. It was opened to vehicles on Thursday. The 18th ...