Check out these astounding pieces of info from the 2014 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, as reported by Amy Dalrymple (who else would it be from?): Hamm sees 2 million barrels per day potential for North Dakota:
- 1 million barrels a day – – production in North Dakota soon to hit this production level
- 2 million barrels a day – – with tech advances, Harold Hamm sees production in Bakken hitting this level
- 20 years – – time to do all drilling still to do in Bakken, per CEOs of Whiting Petroleum, Oasis Petroleum and Continental Resources
- Decades beyond 20 years from now – – production run left after all drilling is done
- 50-60 years – – production life of Bakken
- 4 generations from now – – time horizon we should keep in mind for the impact of our decisions, per Lynn Helms
- 10% / 20% / 40% – – percent of original oil in place that the wizards thought could be recovered initially / now / down the road eventually
- 1 billion – – barrels of oil already pulled out of ground and turned into gasoline and other forms of economic prosperity
- 11.4 billion – – barrels in Bakken field recoverable with today’s technology
- 24 billion – – barrels in Bakken that will eventually be recoverable per Mr. Hamm and unidentified others
- Get your flaring down or else – – the not-a-threat-but-a-promise from the state regulators
- Down to 10% flaring – – current status per three companies mentioned
- Dump socks and you’ll get nailed – – promise from regulators
You may be wondering, why is the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference held in Bismarck?
I’ll answer with another question. How in the world would you house an extra 4,500 people in Williston? For several days. In the middle of the week?
Bismarck sounds like a much better idea.
Update: Article appears in Dickinson Press next day, 5/23.