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North Dakota’s oil patch is coming off another stellar year. In 2010, the State broke nearly every statistical record of oil exploration and production including the number of barrels produced (up 284% to 309,670), the number of wells producing (up 59% to 5,349), and the number of barrels produced per well (up 141% to 21,131). All of this is thanks to the prolific Bakken and Three Forks shale plays which are revolutionizing the American oil industry as we speak.In fact, this latest jolt has propelled North Dakota up the rankings from the ninth-largest oil-producing state in 2006 to now the fourth-largest oil-producing state in the US. But as incredible as this run has been, this may be just a hint of what’s going to happen in the next few years. Government and industry officials now believe that ND’s oil patch could contain more than twice the amount of oil previously estimated, and that the state’s already record crude production will double within the decade. This means that North Dakota could surpass both Alaska and California to become the second-largest oil producing state in America – trailing only Texas. Drilling technology alone has cut the amount of time needed to complete a well from 65 days in 2008 to about 25 days. And today, the Bakken accounts for about 6% of total US crude production – up from less than 1% less than three years ago. Also, the previous estimate by the USGS placed the number of technically recoverable barrels of oil in ND at about 4.3 billion. That was in 2008. But due to highly successful drilling techniques and increased production rates, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources is starting to see indications that there could be over 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the state -- almost 3-times the amount estimated in 2008. The future of the American oil industry will revolve around the state of North Dakota. As an investor that means you should be keeping a keen eye looking for opportunities in the region. In the coming years, the Peace Garden State could pay off big time. Yours in profits,
Roger Gaines |
