NDSU’s Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics is leading a new research initiative that seeks to evaluate the commercial feasibility of utilizing flare gas from the expanding western Bakken oilfield to produce anhydrous fertilizer. Funding for the $99,460 project comes from Agricultural Products Utilization Council ($59,960) and the North Dakota Corn Growers ($39,500). NDSU project leaders are Cole Gustafson, Greg McKee, David Saxowsky, Thein Maung and David Ripplinger.
Gustafson states the project presents a unique opportunity for North Dakota as both flare gas volumes and demand for nitrogen fertilizer increase. There are two main challenges in commercializing this opportunity – can flare gas from remote oil wells be economically collected? And are smaller scale commercial fertilizer production plants viable?
The University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center is going to assist with answering the second question by designing three alternative sized fertilizer plants that can be used in the economic feasibility analysis.
Project leaders say North Dakota agriculture will ultimately derive three benefits from the project. First is a new low cost source of nitrogen fertilizer. The existing fertilizer industry is highly concentrated with only a few international suppliers. A second benefit will be a more stable local supply of fertilizer. Fertilizer supplies in the past have been highly variable and producers at times have had difficulty obtaining sufficient supplies.
Finally, the use of flare gas, which is a recycled product, will provide farmers with a renewable fertilizer product. Renewable fertilizer is in high demand from consumers who seek food products with a lower carbon footprint, the livestock industry that wants greater availability of renewable feeds and the production of renewable fuels. Use of a renewable fertilizer in corn production results in biofuels that have a lower carbon footprint. Biofuels with lower carbon footprints lead to significant market premiums in petroleum markets.