Is North Dakota’s Oil Industry Finally Bouncing Back?
This week, OilPrice.com reported on North Dakota’s growing energy industry. Following a year and a half of fighting the pandemic’s repercussions, Bradstock speculates the state’s oil industry is bouncing back, with the potential to expand its energy output over the next decade.
As tradition goes, North Dakota’s economy has always been bolstered by the success of the oil and gas industry. Infrastructure like schools and housing have grown from and around the oil & gas hubs of the state. OilPrice reports:
“North Dakota has experienced significant development in recent years, largely due to the advancement of the oil industry in the west of the state. As well as basic local level infrastructure, the state has also seen the construction of hotels, restaurants, and a new airport, with state revenues of $12 billion coming directly from oil. The state’s oil industry also supports around 35,000 direct workers and over 65,000 indirect jobs. As the second-largest oil-producing state in the U.S., North Dakota shifts 1.2 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S. market through North and South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois, in its Dakota Access Pipeline.”
However, as every sector across the globe took a punch during the pandemic, estimates suggest that around 10,000 people lost their jobs across North Dakota’s biggest oil-producing counties last year. Thankfully, oil prices have started to rise again and many of the recently-unemployed, skilled workers are regaining their positions. OilPrice reports:
“North Dakota’s oil production appears stable at present, with an average output of 1.1. million bpd in May and June. While it has not yet reached its pre-pandemic production peak of 1.5 bpd, renewed interest in the state’s energy leaves huge potential for untapped reserves should Biden decide to support U.S. oil, as demand and prices continue to rise.”