Petroleum Industry's Economic Contribution to North Dakota in 2007

North Dakota's largest basic sector industries, which include agriculture, manufacturing, and energy, provide much of the economic stimuli for the state's economy. North Dakota's energy industries can be conveniently separated into the activities that produce and distribute electricity, coal, and petroleum. Recent upswings in oil activity, due in part to increased energy prices, the availability of improved exploration and extraction technology, and substantial potential for oil recovery from various formations in the Williston Basin, have brought new attention to the petroleum industry in North Dakota. Increase in leasing activity, more well drilling rigs operating in the state, substantial increases in severance tax collections, and other financial and economic aspects of the industry have all been discussed in the media. The purpose of this report is to document the physical and economic activity associated with the petroleum industry in North Dakota.