據5月18日Rigzone報道，根據美國能源信息署《鉆井生產率報告》，盡管北達科他州巴肯地區原油產量下降了6%，但2021年該地區年度天然氣產量(以總取水量衡量)增長了9%。

根據該報告，天然氣產量在2021年達到29.7億立方英尺/天的年度高點，超過了2019年創下的29.5億立方英尺/天的年度高點，扭轉了2020年因疫情導致需求下降和停產導致的8%降幅。

相比之下，巴肯地區原油平均年產量在2019年達到145萬桶/天的峰值，然后在2020年和2021年下降了17%和6%。自2008年以來，該地區天然氣與原油產量的比例一直在上升，并繼續加速。

北達科他州監管機構和運營商繼續減少天然氣生產過程中的井口燃除。

美國能源信息署表示，北達科他州工業委員會提高了天然氣捕獲目標，即在井口捕獲的天然氣比例從2014年10月的74%提高到2020年11月初的91%。

截至2021年12月，北達科他州天然氣燃除率平均為7.5%，這意味著92.5%的天然氣已被捕獲。

根據NDIC數據，為了實現捕獲目標，北達科他州中游公司將其天然氣處理能力從2013年的10億立方英尺/天擴大到2021年的40億立方英尺/天。

NDIC預計2023年處理能力將增加到42億立方英尺/天，因為增加了更多的管道運輸能力。

2022年2月，WBI能源公司將100英里長的北巴肯擴建管道投入使用，該管道可以將25億立方英尺/天的天然氣從北達科他州蒂奧加生產中心輸送到北達科他州麥肯齊縣需求中心。

王佳晶 摘譯自 Rigzone

原文如下：

Bakken Gas Production Up In 2021 As Oil Drops once Again

Annual natural gas production – measured as gross withdrawals – in North Dakota’s Bakken region increased by 9 percent in 2021, even as the region’s crude oil production declined by 6 percent, according to the Drilling Productivity Report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to the report, natural gas production reached an annual high of 2.97 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2021, surpassing the previous high of 2.95 Bcf/d set in 2019 and reversing an 8 percent decline in 2020 amid demand decline and production shut-ins related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In contrast, the Bakken region’s average annual crude oil production peaked at 1.45 million barrels per day in 2019 and then declined by 17 percent in 2020 and by 6 percent in 2021. The region’s ratio of natural gas to crude oil production has been increasing since 2008 and continues to accelerate.

North Dakota state regulators and operators continue to reduce natural gas flaring at the wellhead that has accompanied natural gas production.

The EIA stated that the North Dakota Industrial Commission raised natural gas capture targets, or the percentage of natural gas captured at the wellhead rather than flared, from 74 percent in October 2014 to 91 percent at the beginning of November 2020.

As of December 2021, North Dakota’s natural gas flaring rate averaged 7.5 percent, which means that 92.5 percent of the natural gas was captured.

To meet the capture targets, midstream companies operating in North Dakota expanded their natural gas processing capacity from 1.0 Bcf/d in 2013 to 4.0 Bcf/d in 2021, according to the NDIC.

The NDIC expects processing capacity to increase to 4.2 Bcf/d in 2023 because more pipeline takeaway capacity has been added.

In February 2022, WBI Energy placed into service the 100-mile North Bakken Expansion pipeline, which can transport 0.25 Bcf/d of natural gas from production centers in Tioga, North Dakota, to demand centers in McKenzie County, North Dakota.