http://money.msn.com/investing/north-dakotas-oil-boom-11-cool-facts

1. In 2008, oil companies began using the new drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to tap into the estimated 170 billion barrels of crude oil that sat beneath the ground in the Bakken shale foundation. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) calls the Bakken shale foundation, stretching across 200,000 square miles, the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever seen. Oil was first discovered there in 1951, but it hasn't been accessible until now. The USGS estimates the U.S. will be able to recover 7.4 billion barrels of oil from the region and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. So far, only about 250 million barrels of oil have been recovered. The region now accounts for 42% of the growth in U.S. oil production in recent years. http://money.msn.com/investing/north-dakotas-oil-boom-11-cool-facts http://www.thebakkenshale.com/bakkenshale77.png

2. Oil production has risen more than 600% North Dakota's oil production has increased from 36 million barrels in 2005 to 237 million in 2012. There are now 8,360 active wells in the state, producing 783,000 barrels of oil a day. The state has gone from the No. 8 oil-producing state to No. 2 in just seven years. http://money.msn.com/money-video?videoid=1babc456-aec4-4d7f-bf8c-094ef75a1166&from=en-us_money Oil in America – in class

3. Each new well costs $10 million A new well costs about $10 million to build in the Bakken region -- about $3 million more than in other U.S. oil-producing regions like Texas. Each well is expected to generate $20 million in profits, about $4.4 million in taxes, $1.6 million in salaries and wages, and $7.6 million in royalties.

4. Unemployment in the Williston region is about 1% There are an estimated 40,856 oil industry jobs in North Dakota, plus an additional 18,000 jobs supporting the industry. The hub of the area -- the town of Williston, population 16,000 -- produced 14,000 new jobs alone between 2010 and 2012. The state has a 3% unemployment rate, and the Williston region's is around 1%.

5. Highway traffic is up ten-fold Each well requires about 2,000 truck trips in its first year of operation. On the highway running through the area, traffic has leapt from 1,400 cars a day to 14,000, and the road is currently being expanded from two to six lanes.

6. McDonald's can't find enough workers The local fast-food franchise is struggling to find employees, so it's offering $15 an hour and signing bonuses of $300. And average weekly wages are up 40% since 2009.

7. Population is expected to jump 50% Over the next 20 years, the population is expected to climb by 50% in North Dakota's oil producing region.

8. No one knows how long it will last While many say the boom will last for decades, J. David Hughes at the Post Carbon Institute, a think tank based in California, estimates that Bakken Shale oil production will peak in 2015.

9. The U.S. Energy Information Administration places current U.S. oil consumption at 6.87 billion barrels for 2011. At an average consumption rate of 6.9 billion barrels a year, 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable Bakken oil would last Americans less than one year. At 24 billion barrels, Americans would burn through the Bakken in about three and a half years. Even if all the Bakken oil were recoverable, it would last us for perhaps 24 years, or maybe as many as 73 years.  Another concern is water. The State Water Commission estimates that, on average, each fracked well requires at least 2 million gallons, with a few individual fracking jobs demanding somewhere between 8 to 11 million gallons.  http://www.uminnpressblog.com/2013/03/sustainability-and-north-dakotas-oil.html http://www.energypress.gr/resource-api/energypress/contentObject/Reuters:-Ayxhsh-twn-agorwn-petrelaioy-apo-to-Iran-shediazei-h-Kina/image