Subscribe to Blog ContentBakken formation has been on the oilfield industry's radar since the 1950s, but oilfield production companies had no economical way to access the oil buried in deep, dense rocks. That has changed in the last few years due to technology advances and improved drilling techniques.
The current drilling process is economically feasible and it allows oilfield companies to drill more and faster. Learning from the oil exploration and drilling work done in Fort Worth's Barnett Shale, Bakken Shale oil and production companies drill thousands of feet below the ground. Then, moving horizontally, they the drill with water to crack the gas-bearing rocks to reach the oil.
This drilling process wasn't an instant success because oil molecules are larger than gas molecules. Unlike Barnett Shale's gas formation, Bakken is an oil formation. In 2006, it took 56 days to drill, and now it takes only 24. Bakken has become the country's fourth largest oil producer after extracting 80 million barrels of oil.
Bakken formation stretches beyond North Dakota state lines into Canada and Montana where the industry hopes to find more oil. Oilfield companies hope to apply these successes in other formations in California, Colorado and Texas.
A U.S. Geological Survey reports that Bakken Shale may have the potential to produce four billion barrels of oil, the largest amount in 40 years of oil exploration in the U.S. However, this doesn't match up to the oilfield production levels from the 1970s. Current oil production leaders include Texas, Alaska and California with North Dakota sneaking up right behind. North Dakota could outdo Alaska if Bakken Shale continues to produce at the current rate.
Bakken Shale's oil production helped North Dakota shake off the troubled economy. The state had an unemployment rate over 5 percent lower than the national level. Furthermore, North Dakota's government expects to see a surplus in its budget.
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