Bakken Stanton Dodson
According to Great Dakota Energy CEO, Stanton Dodson, opportunities are abound in “the Bakken.” Here is his view:
1. The Bakken is the Most Significant Oil Boom in the US in Decades
…and, by official estimates, it looks like Bakken Basin’s massive oil reserve will stay for decades more. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) are both monitoring the development in the Bakken Basin. An April 2008 USGS report estimated the amount of technically recoverable oil using technology readily available at the end of 2007 within the Bakken Formation at 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels. Various other estimates place the total reserves, recoverable and non-recoverable with today’s technology, at up to 24 billion barrels. The most recent estimate places the figure at 18 billion barrels. With this massive reserve of shale oil, it’s little wonder that the Bakken is being touted as the biggest oil boom in decades following the 1970s peak and subsequent fall of US oil production.
Many industry players are optimistic that the Bakken Basin will free the US from oil importation – a burden which first started in the 1990s when the US imported almost two-thirds of its total oil consumption. The USGS is going to hold another survey of the area on 2012 to update their data collected from their 2008 survey. It is expected that with the advancements made in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, the barrels of technically recoverable oil will rise. There are hundreds of companies currently operating oil rigs in the Bakken Basin, and dozens of oil rigs continue to be added every year.
2. Bakken Offers Numerous Opportunities
…and by that we mean opportunities both within the oil industry and many industries associated with it – one way or another – via exploration & production, equipment, products and services. With the unprecedented growth in the Bakken Basin, it’s not an overstatement to say that there’s something for everyone.
There are thousands of jobs waiting to be filled. Companies offer wages considerably higher than the state’s minimum rate, although finding suitable accommodations is a significant deterrent for many who wish to call this home. For enterprising people, there are needs to fill and an assured market waiting to do business with – from construction to logistics, food and catering, and beyond.
3. The Bakken Offers Exceptional Possibilities
With revenues multiplying at an unprecedented pace, opportunists are cashing in on the rapid growth in the Williston Basin.
One example are the companies that build and operate pipelines such as Kinder Morgan. From 2007 to 2010, the pipeline partnership gave their shareholders a 17.7 percent compound annual return. This is five times the annual return that major oil companies earn for their investors. With billions of revenue, Kinder Morgan announced in 2011 its $21 billion investment to acquire its competitor, El Paso Corporation.
At present, North Dakota – which covers part of the Bakken Basin – is one of the fastest growing states in the US. With unprecedented growth and development brought by the Bakken Basin, now is the right time to join the oil boom that will contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy.
This article is brought to you by Stanton Dodson and Dom Einhorn.
