DALRYMPLE ON REGULATORY PUSH TO REDUCE BURN-OFF BY BAKKEN OIL PRODUCERS

North Dakota is at the epicenter of the Bakken Shale oil-production boom that has lifted U.S. crude production to multiyear highs. While that development has brought investment and jobs to the once hard-pressed state, the pace of growth has posed a challenge in terms of infrastructure capacity and regulatory oversight. One of the most obvious issues is the widespread burning off, or flaring, of surplus natural gas at oil wells at levels much higher than in other oil-producing states such as Oklahoma and Texas. North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple, a member of the state’s powerful industrial commission, spoke to The Wall Street Journal’s Chester Dawson recently about new regulatory initiatives designed to reduce flaring by Bakken oil producers. Read the full Q & A at The Wall Street Journal.