How $1 Billion in Natural Gas Vanishes Into Thin Air

Producers in the Bakken: You have a problem.

Despite the huge gains in oil production that have come from the Bakken formation in North Dakota, producers in the region haven't found a way to market the natural gas from these wells, which has led to flaring it off. Aside from the environmental concerns of this technique, non-profit group Ceres estimates that flaring off gas is akin to throwing away about $1 billion in a year in potential revenue.

So why are all these producers tossing out that much potential? Because they simply haven't found a way to get it to market economically. To find out why fixing this issue is extremely difficult, tune in to the following video, where Fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe takes a look at some of the major factors that keep this problem from getting resolved.

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The article How $1 Billion in Natural Gas Vanishes Into Thin Air originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him at Fool.com under the handle TMFDirtyBird, on Google +, or on Twitter, @TylerCroweFool. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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