Flared Gas Yields Green Solutions

Green technology is on the horizon, and in one of the most unlikely places; the Bakken oil patch.

Innovative Montana co-founders of the Billings business G2G Solutions (Gas to Green) have created an ingenious solution for one of the Bakken’s “hottest” issues flared gas.

Helena’s Mark Peterson took time from his busy day to explain over a cup of coffee more about the company which has created new opportunities for him and his family; G2G Solutions, which he is a co-founder of.

Peterson, who owns Aspen Consulting and Engineering in the capitol city, is a chemical engineer who specializes in environmental issues, namely air-quality permitting. Mark has two children ages two and five, and a wife from Grant, Montana near Dillon. He used to work for the State at the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Mark studied Project Engineering and Management through a joint program of MSU and Montana Tech after earning his degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. When asked why he left the east coast he responded, “Because I’m an outdoors person.” Mark has now lived in Helena for nearly twenty years.

Back in the mid 2000s, when environmental concerns were raised on water management in the Powder River Basin, the country’s fastest growing source of coalbed methane (which is natural gas from coal), Mark saw an opportunity to create a solution which would give businesses the confidence to continue investing in Montana’s energy infrastructure. He created PureTech, a company which provided water treatment solutions for coalbed methane projects. Mark’s an artist when it comes to solving environmental problems, and well, you could say that his latest endeavor is truly a masterpiece.

Since G2G Solutions filed its paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office in 2011, Mark says the company’s taken precedence over other projects. “The opportunity you have as an entrepreneur is to build a strong company. You put way more on the line than most people understand, but the payoff comes later on down the road,” explained Mark.

So what exactly is G2G Solutions?

“We are a full-service company that finds ways to economically solve environmental problems for the energy sector,” said Mark, who explained that the current service they’re providing to producers is the capturing of flared gas, and the conversion of that gas into a marketable commodity known as natural gas liquids (NGLs). Gas is flared in Montana and North Dakota when it is either awaiting a pipeline hookup or if the pipeline isn’t big enough to handle the gas volume.

“All we need is a connection to the flare line and then G2G takes care of the rest. Our goal is to stay out of the producer’s way and have them feel as if we aren’t even there.” G2G Solutions provides the manpower to manage each of the flare gas treatment systems, as well as all of the set-up, take-down, and transportation of the product and equipment. The technology is mobile and can move from well to well with ease in as short as one day’s time. Mark explained that each recovery system will come equipped with a patent pending flow control system to manage the ebb and flow of the flare line, as well as a safety system. The company currently employs over ten workers and will soon be hiring additional employees to help check, assemble, and haul the equipment.

The company has spent the last year in the field testing and making adjustments to all of their systems. The newest MRSs (Mobile Recovery Systems), called Generation 2 systems, will hit this spring. Each MRS is connected to an 18,000 gallon storage tank. Once the tank fills up, which takes between three to ten days depending on the flow, G2G arranges for a transport tank to haul the NGL product to market.

The project will have a positive impact on the environment and the pocketbooks of mineral owners. “We’re reducing greenhouses gases and VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions while at the same time recovering hydrocarbons for additional revenue for the producers and the royalty owners,” co-founder Mark Peterson said. “We are also excited about our system being used for fuel gas conditioning and flow stabilization so that more of the flare gas can be burned in engines replacing high cost diesel during the drilling and completion phases. Our technology in combination with new dual fuel retrofits for diesel engines saves the producer money and helps the environment.”

Simply put, the owners of G2G Solutions have created a way to “turn a waste stream into a revenue stream,” as co-founder Brian Cebull put it. Talk about the perfect balance of environmental responsibility and economic prosperity. These guys have hit the nail on the head, proving just how creative and powerful the entrepreneurial spirit of Montanans can be when presented with an opportunity.

The service that G2G Solutions provides couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. The pace of drilling is up, including an increase in multi-well pads and drilling permits, and bills to address flaring in North Dakota have become real hot button issues at the Legislature.

Though the founders of the company are eyeing opportunities elsewhere in the country, the need in the Bakken promises to keep them busy for quite some time. “I see this business really growing,” exclaimed Mark. Indeed, opportunities in the Bakken are knockin’.