Governor Bullock visits state's first injection oil wells

HELENA (AP) — Gov. Steve Bullock and company officials are lauding the state’s first production carbon dioxide injection oil field as a big step forward.

Officials with Denbury Resources Inc. held a ribbon-cutting Friday at their Bell Creek plant in southeastern Montana.

The company said it has invested more than $300 million in an effort to revive a 1960s era oil field.

Carbon dioxide is piped to the plant from coal operations in Wyoming, and pumped underground to force out more oil.

Bullock said the technology is good for the environment by capturing the greenhouse gas, and good for the economy by bringing more jobs and tax base to the state.

The company said it has plans for an even larger recovery project on the Montana-North Dakota border.