Bakken Shale: Supplying Energy, Supporting Communities
Mark Green
Posted July 16, 2012
Check out a couple of new videos from North Dakota in which Hess employees and others talk about how energy development in the Bakken Shale formation is changing lives and growing the state’s economy.
Part 1:
Part 2:
The narrative isn’t complicated. As Hess’ Steven Fretland notes in the first video, the Bakken is believed to hold between 8 billion and 40 billion barrels of oil reserves. Companies developing the energy resources need workers, and workers need places to live and services to support their lives. Fretland, who was raised in North Dakota, says Bakken energy is reversing historic trends:
“Younger kids, after they left, you know, you hated to see them go but then they come back and they decide … it’s where they’re going to have their home and raise a family and hopefully retire with the industry.”
In the second video, Hess’ Steve McNally says hydraulic fracturing that has revolutionized energy development is responsible for North Dakota’s jobs boom:
“The impact on the North Dakota area and the U.S. in the short term is numerous jobs. There’s a tremendous amount of employment opportunities here. For anyone who wants to work, you can get a job.”
The point, underscored in this new industry spot, is that fracking has made an old frontier state like North Dakota a new energy frontier. Previously unreachable shale resources are now available in abundance through responsible development. Learn more at Energy From Shale.org.
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.