BAKKEN BENEFITS
INNOVATION
ADVANCING THE POSSIBILITIES
PROSPERITY
OPPORTUNITY
SUSTAINABILITY
SECURITY
PROGRESS
Becoming smarter and better.
We want new efficiencies in the way we produce energy and how we use that energy to improve our state and the entire country. From the technology created in the east to the energy produced in the west, North Dakota is ready for a new age of innovation and invention.
Portable modular units (pictured above) serve as small data processing centers right at the wellpad.
snuffing out flares
Digital Flare Mitigation uses wellhead natural gas to power super-computers, right from the Bakken
North Dakota’s remote and rugged territory has made it difficult and sometimes even impossible to build the infrastructure necessary to capture natural gas.
Without a pipeline or other equipment, this natural gas is “stranded” and must be flared. But, but several companies have been working hard to come up with innovative solutions to this challenge.
Among them is Crusoe Energy Systems, which has developed technology and equipment that captures natural gas at the wellhead and converts it into electricity for energy-intensive computing.
Computers that are used for bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence and other machine learning programs consume an exorbitant amount of energy. Crusoe’s solution is to take gas that would otherwise be flared off, convert it to electricity and transfer that power to servers onsite for computing tasks.
The solution not only helps curb flaring and reduce emissions, but it also provides an energy stream for data processing.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Challenge Accepted:
Industry and researchers team up for solutions with iPIPE
When the governor of North Dakota challenged pipeline operators to find solutions to pipeline leaks, the industry accepted.
That challenge led to the formation of the Intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program, or iPIPE. This industry-led research consortium teamed up with researchers at the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks to apply advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and nanosensors, to improve liquids gathering pipeline leak prevention and leak detection.
iPIPE has invested more than $4 million in development and demonstration activities, which has resulted in the development of several solutions that are improving leak detection.
The consortium also continues to serve as an information exchange program and incubator for new emerging technologies.
Rig Innovations
Innovations in rig design are speeding up production in the oil and natural gas industry. What once took weeks, like moving a rig, now takes hours. Modern rigs now have the ability to “walk” from one wellbore to another. These walking rigs can turn 360 degrees and move up to 15 feet in any direction, all in only two hours.