Bakken Blows by Billion Barrels | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
The Bakken, and the underlying Three Forks, shales have produced over a billion barrels of oil in North Dakota and Montana since initial production in 2000 as reported by “Rigzone”. The formation which lies beneath these two states, as well as the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, spans 25,000 square miles. According to the U. S. Geological Survey, it is the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed with recoverable reserves estimated at 7.4 billion barrels.
Original production was in Montana, but in 2005 North Dakota came on stream and the rest is history. The vast majority of the structure, and consequently production, is in North Dakota which is now second only to Texas. The Bakken currently is producing nearly a million barrels of oil per day.
For decades the presence of hydrocarbons in the Bakken was well known. It was not until the price of oil was sufficiently high to economically justify development, and horizontal drilling and fracing technology adequately advanced, was production feasible.
Continental Resources of Oklahoma city, one of the first and largest operators in the Bakken, released a statement saying “This milestone (1 billion barrels of cumulative production) validates the immense potential of the Bakken field, and development is just beginning”.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/132820/Bakken .
