Oceans of Oil Beneath North Dakota

The USGS announced Thursday that it estimates between 3 billion and 4.3 billion barrels of oil exist in the Bakken Formation approximately two miles beneath North Dakota and spreading into Montana and Canada. The oil is extractable using present methods, primarily with horizontal drilling. This announcement means an enormous amount of change is on the near horizon for much of western North Dakota and eastern Montana, with an industrialization of the region, population growth, construction of infrastructure, and a marked increase in commercial and business alternatives for the citizenry. State governments in both ND and MT will see a geyser of cash into state coffers in the coming years. Hopefully the wisdom and vision exists in both states to maintain the perspective of environmental balance and responsibility despite the euphoria over this news.

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2008/04/10/north-dakota-oil-discovery-called-biggest-in-u-s.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/us/11oil.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_Formation

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/DakotaOilPersiaOnThePlains.aspx

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