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“The EERC is currently endeavoring
to also work on flaring and the
collection and use of associated gas,
solid waste and water management.
refined knowledge of fracture networks and
conduct other activities to better define the
reserves of the shale formations. Alongside
Continental Resources Inc., the EERC is
working to evaluate several key operational
challenges that Bakken producers deal with
on a daily basis.
“We work closely with our partners, which,
along with Continental Resources, include
Marathon, Whiting, ConocoPhillips, SM Energy,
Oasis Petroleum, PetroHunt, Hess, Nuverra,
Hitachi Data Systems, and the North
Dakota Industrial Commission, to identify
and prioritize those challenges,” says Harju.
“We then conduct field-based and/or laboratory-based
research efforts to better understand
the nature of those key challenges, with a goal of
developing solutions that are economically and
environmentally sustainable.”
The EERC is currently endeavoring to
also work on flaring and the collection and
use of associated gas, solid waste and water
management. The EERC’s optimization efforts
are designed to be flexible and responsive
to meet the evolving needs of the project
partners and, as such, new topics may be added
in the future.
Hopping hurdles
Projects of this scale and scope tend to
face a variety of logistical challenges, particularly
when they involve multi-partner,
multi-year and multi-topic variables. However,
the enthusiastic support from project
stakeholders, coupled with the EERC’s track
record, help to make clearing the potential
hurdles an easier task.
“The EERC has a long track record of designing,
implementing, and managing these
types of projects,” says Harju. “This experience
has served us well in ensuring that the
project got off the ground and continues to
move forward in a smooth and timely fashion.”
The results of this project are expected
to provide the partners of the EERC and
the citizens of North Dakota with scientifically
robust knowledge that will ensure
the resources of the Bakken and Three
Forks system are developed in a cost-effective
manner with minimal environmental
impact. In addition, this project will
strengthen the EERC’s technical expertise
and its relationships with stakeholders in
the Bakken.
Although this project is currently confined
to a three-year period of performance,
the intention of the EERC is to continue
on with the optimization efforts beyond
the scheduled time frame. The EERC plans
to proceed with commercial participation,
building on its established and valued partnerships
beyond the three-year window.
Long-term sustainability
Ultimately, establishing the size and nature
of the oil resources of the Bakken and
Three Forks systems, and then developing
approaches to improve operational efficiency
and reduce the environmental footprint, will
lead to overall improvements in production
efficiency in North Dakota.
“Such results will directly benefit the state
of North Dakota, the industry and royalty
owners by supporting the maintenance of
strong oil production rates and the revenues
that go with it,” says Harju. “The reduction
of the environmental footprint will improve
the long-term sustainability of the Bakken
and Three Forks play in North Dakota,
which will, in the long run, benefit all of the
citizens of North Dakota.”
Get to Know Our
Experts
John
Harju
John A. Harju
is the associate director
for research
at the EERC,
where he oversees
the activities of a
team of scientists
and engineers focused on research, development,
demonstration and commercialization
of energy and environmental technologies.
Before joining the EERC, he was
vice-president of Crystal Solutions, LLC,
a firm involved in commercial exploration
and production water management, regulatory
permitting and compliance and environmental
impact monitoring and analysis.
Harju is a graduate of the Geology
program at the University of North Dakota.
He serves on the United States Department
of Energy’s Unconventional Resources
Technology Advisory Committee,
which provides advice to the Secretary of
Energy on the development and implementation
of activities related to unconventional
natural gas and other petroleum
resources.
78 The Official Publication of the North Dakota Association of Oil & Gas Producing Counties