Regulators say severe cold weather has caused a spate of spills and slowed production at oil fields in North Dakota.
North Dakota has experienced several days of frigid weather, with wind chills and temperatures reaching -70 degrees in the Bakken oil field. Regulators say this puts strain on workers and equipment and could lead to accidents that could lead to spills.
More than 60 spills and other gas and oil environmental incidents have been reported in the past week, according to the state's spill dashboard.
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Ten years ago, Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of Environment, told the Bismarck Tribune, “This is probably the worst thing that has happened since I took over the spill program.”
Suess said public health was not at risk due to the remote location of the spill. The most common spills involve crude oil and produced water, wastewater that is a byproduct of oil and gas production and contains petroleum, drilling chemicals, and salts. The resulting water runoff can cause long-term damage to the affected land.
Some businesses are already cleaning up despite the frigid temperatures, while others are waiting for the weather to warm up. Suss said the agency is giving companies breathing room given the extreme situation, but he still expects efforts to begin soon.
Sixty oil spills have been reported in North Dakota over the past week as severe cold weather hits the state and other parts of the country.
“They can't wait for the spring thaw,” Suess said. “They will need to be out in the field over the next week or so working on these tasks.”
Ron Ness, chairman of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said production fell during the cold snap in part because companies were trying to prevent spills. North Dakota producers are used to cold weather, but “below 20 degrees is on a different level,” Ness said.
As of Wednesday morning, the state was producing 650,000 to 700,000 barrels per day of oil and 1.7 billion to 1.9 billion barrels per day of gas, said Justin Kringstad, executive director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority. It is estimated that cubic feet will decrease. By comparison, the state produced an average of 1.24 million barrels of oil and 3.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day in October.
Kent Kirkhamer, CEO of Minot-based New Kota Service and Rentals, said there are limits to what can be accomplished in harsh conditions when equipment freezes. He said the company is focused on ensuring employees are not outdoors for long periods of time.
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“When it's this cold, safety comes first, but (we're) just trying to get things going,” he said.
