BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota’s Republican-led Senate has defeated a Democratic measure to study the burning and wasting of natural gas in the state’s oil patch.
Senators voted 32-15 against the measure Wednesday.
The bill was amended from its original intent that would have required companies to pay royalties if they flare natural gas for more than a year.
Natural gas is a byproduct of oil production. The state produced nearly 1.4 million barrels of oil a day in November, the latest figures available. With that came 2.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The industry flared 21 percent of the gas in November. The state requires companies to limit that to 12 percent. Operators missed the target for the seventh month in a row in November.
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