North Dakota Officials: Well Spill Due to Equipment Failure

9/10/2021

KEENE, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators are investigating a spill that released nearly 48,000 gallons of produced water and more than 1,000 gallons of oil.

The state Oil and Gas Division said the incident happened Wednesday at a Slawson Exploration well about 14 miles northwest of Keene. The spill was due an equipment failure or malfunction, officials said.

Authorities said Thursday that the water and oil was contained to the site and was recovered and hauled away. Produced water is a byproduct of oil extraction and is typically taken from the well to a disposal site.

A state inspector has been to the location and will monitor any additional cleanup that’s required.