More than one-third of the gas produced in North Dakota is burned off as a byproduct of the state's escalating oil production, compared to less than 1 percent in oil fields nationwide.
The amount of natural gas that's torched and wasted daily by drillers in North Dakota's oil patch also is costing the state millions of dollars annually in lost revenue, Mathern said.
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Look at these right wingers. They might as well be saying, "Let's rape the country for everything we can for just a few dollars more".
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In August, Xcel Energy Inc., XEL +0.29% based in Minneapolis, notified regulators it wants to close a coal-burning plant in Boulder, Colo., and convert four units at its Cherokee plant in Denver to burn natural gas instead of coal. Xcel says the changes would cost the company $1.3 billion but still would be $225 million cheaper than installing pollution-control equipment on the aging coal units.
Power Companies Burn Less Coal, More Natural Gas - WSJ.com
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That's what they should be doing. Natural gas is cheaper and cleaner than coal. And there is the worry we are running out of capacity. But these right wingers seem to be saying, "**** it, who cares? We need to get more money into the pockets of these oil producers. Who cares if they rape the country and waste it's resources?