Less flaring of gas to help allies, Hoeven says

WILLISTON, N.D., April 23 (UPI) -- North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said a reduction in the flaring of natural gas could potentially help U.S. allies with their energy needs.

Hoeven met in Williston with Torstein Hole, a senior vice president of onshore operations at Norwegian energy company Statoil. The Republican senator said Statoil invested $8 billion in developing the Bakken oil play in his state and was working through a partnership with General Electric to help capture natural gas associated with oil development.

"We have a tremendous opportunity to help our allies, boost our economy, create jobs for our people and reduce flaring," Hoeven said in a statement Tuesday.

North Dakota's government in January got behind plans by WBI Energy Inc., a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, to build a pipeline to deliver natural gas from the Bakken reserve area in the west of the state to eastern North Dakota consumers.

North Dakota lacks the infrastructure necessary to take full advantage of natural gas associated with oil reserves in the state at the heart of the shale oil and natural gas boom. The so-called Dakota pipeline would be able to transport 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day once it's completed in 2017.