| Summary: | In 2005, Bowman County was North Dakota's largest crude oil producer, with 13 million barrels, followed by McKenzie County at 5.4 million barrels, Billings County at 4,7 million barrels, Williams County at 3.4 million barrels, Stark County at 2.4 million barrels, and Bottineau County at 2.3 million barrels. The state also has one crude oil refinery, which is located near Mandan and has a daily capacity of 60,000 barrels. Improved drilling technology that makes it easier to capture oil has also strengthened prospects for a sustaining long-term steady production in North Dakota. One technological advancement is horizontal drilling, which turns a drill bit sideways into a layer of rock after first drilling vertically into the ground. This has made it more economical to capture the oil in some of North Dakota's reserves, which can be located in narrow layers of rock as deep as two miles. North Dakota's most promising oil-producing area is the Williston Basin's middle Bakken Formation, an oil shale layer 10,000 feet deep, which covers all or parts of 17 counties. The U.S. Department of Energy has said the Bakken Formation could likely be the highest producing onshore field found in the lower 48 states in the past half century. And, it may have more oil than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The North Dakota Geological Survey, the Oil and Gas Division of the North Dakota Industrial Commission, and the University of North Dakota published three articles in 2006 updating the oil and gas reserves for North Dakota. The studies concluded that North Dakota has 550 million barrels of proved developed oil reserves (having a 90 percent chance of recovery), 660 million barrels of probable oil reserves (having a 50 percent chance of recovery) and 1.6 billion barrels of possible oil reserves (having a 10 percent chance of recovery.) Health Care and Services As long as it has been a state, North Dakota has faced the challenges of providing health care and services to a rural population base. Today, the state has more than 1,400 licensed physicians and 51 hospitals in cities and towns ranging in size from Fargo, population 90,000 to McVille, population 475. The quality of health care available in the state today can be credited to the foresight of state leaders who established a medical school more than 100 years ago. North Dakota is also on the cutting edge with its advances in promoting rural health policy through its Center for Rural Health and to provide pharmacy services supporting rural areas through its innovative telepharmacy program. 2007-2009 NORTH DAKOTA BLUE BOOK
|
|---|