Interest beyond the Bakken Shale’s four-county core in North Dakota is expanding to the upper Midwest grasslands, with as many as five of the state’s 65 active rigs now in operation.
During the most recent monthly report on North Dakota’s oil and natural gas production, Department of Minerals Director Lynn Helms reported an increase in exploratory activity on federal lands in the grasslands.
“That is generally very encouraging,” Helms said. “There is a lot of very good geology out there,” in the mixture of federal, tate and private lands, including U.S. Forest Service land.U.S. Shale Coverage, Analysis, & Price Data at 15+ Key Unconventional Basins
Drilling permits were granted recently in the Corral Creek Unit in Dunn County in western North Dakota. In addition, a carbon capture and storage project by Red Trail Energy LLC is set to get underway this summer near Richardton, which Helms expects to be operating in 2020.