An environmental services company and helicopter service company in the booming oil region of western North Dakota have teamed up to develop an organic solution to cleaning up oil spills on water. Bakken Environmental Services developed a coating for wood chips that attracts oil and repels water. The chips would be dropped on localized oil spills by Double M Helicopter, then cleaned up by booms and suction, according to a story in Tuesday’s Bismarck Tribune.
To see how the new technology works, check out this video demonstration produced by the two North Dakota-based companies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvrM0Ykf16U
Just like thousands of energy industry workers are flooding into North Dakota to extract valuable oil reserves locked miles below the ground, so are environmental services and oil industry support service companies working toward solutions to important environmental challenges. Developments like this one could help build the confidence of North Dakotans that oil can be extracted safely and efficiently.
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