Enhanced oil recovery discussions underway at Williston Basin Petroleum Conference

(WDAY Radio) -- North Dakota oil officials are beginning to experiment with enhanced oil recovery as discussions about the future of the industry are underway at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

State mineral officials have pointed to the extra 500 billion barrels of oil currently in North Dakota rock that is becoming harder to access due to dipping pressures. To access the remaining billions of gallons, state officials say there needs to be a pressure put on the liquid to allow it to be forced through piping and into barrels. Charles Gorecki, the President and CEO of the Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota, believes enhanced oil recovery in North Dakota is possible through the utilization of CO2 gas.

"It is able to pressurize the reservoir, it mixes well with oil. It allows [the reservoir] to be produced at a well that would otherwise not be able to be produced at." said Gorecki.

Gorecki says North Dakota does not lack in CO2 production. He says lots of CO2 produced in ND via coal fired power plants, and a large source is likely to be built from the Summit Carbon Solutions CO2 pipeline. 

You can learn more about the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference by clicking here.