The North Dakota Industrial Commission regulates oil and gas activity within the state.
Venting Methane (wellhead gas, processed gas) is already not allowed, the gas must either be captured for processing or flared.
That depends on production (the Natural Gas is a byproduct of oil production), infrastructure (gathering pipelines) and the ability of gas processing plants to process the wellhead gas.
If those facilities are down for maintenance, they cannot process gas and the excess is flared. As of June, the total gas capture in North Dakota was 94%, down one percent from May due to gas processing plant shutdowns.
Some of the uncaptured (flared) gas is due to new wells coming on line, and the wait time to install infrastructure to gather gas and deliver it to processing plants (pipelines).
According to the NDIC, 1% of the produced gas does not have a pipeline connection, the remaining 5% was not captured due to infrastructure challenges.
Source:
https://www.dmr.nd.gov/dmr/oilgas/directorscut Numbers provided in the video presentation at that link.
Some gas, dissolved in oil will vent from the tops of tanks on site as it comes out of solution in the oil, although that dissolved gas is reduced greatly by separators on the production site. Oil transported by rail must reduce the vapor pressure of the oil present to meet DOT standards to reduce the risk of fire.
Some Methane is released while drilling a well, from the different rock formations and entrained in the drilling mud, where it evolves to atmosphere as that mud is reconditioned (drill solids and gas removed) before being pumped back down hole. If the amount of gas present will support combustion, that gas will be flared. If not, it disperses in air.
Keep in mind, that this rule is promulgated by the EPA (making law again).
