Friends of the Earth responds to allegations from Continental Resources

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Amigos de la Tierra released a report, “A Flaring Shame: North Dakota & the Hidden Fracking Subsidy,” on royalty-free venting and flaring on public and tribal lands. Continental Resources, the company that has flared the most based on the data provided, is alleging that the data is incorrect.

Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Director Ben Schreiber issued the following statement in response:

Continental Resources has responded to our report by alleging that the data set is erroneous and demanding a retraction. We have requested that additional data be provided to the federal government to support this claim.

This federal data remains the best and only comprehensive data set for how much of this natural resource is being given away for free to individual companies on public and tribal lands in North Dakota. We stand by our report as an analysis of the best available public data set, until and unless new federal data becomes public.

If the data provided by the BLM is incorrect, it highlights the fact that only oil companies know how much taxpayer-owned resources are being handed over for free.

###

Expert contact: Ben Schreiber, (202) 222-0752, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]