North Dakota mineral resource and Bakken oil formation History

Artobuono - North Dakota?s own estimate of how much oil can be gotten economically, using current technology, from the Bakken formation in the Williston Basin is slightly above or below 2.1 billion barrels, Lynn Helms reported this morning at a conference here.

Helms, director of the state?s department of mineral resources, said that estimate is based on a new study by the state that estimates there is as much total oil, or ?oil in place,? in the Bakken formation as some of the largest estimates. He said the state?s new study is in line with the estimate made by the late geologist Leigh Price that the Bakken?s geology should have resulted in the theoretical generation of up to 400 billion barrels of oil. Helms spoke at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference & Expo. About 1,350 oil industry representatives from several states filled the conference, forcing organizers to stop registering people. People like