Chieftain falsely suggested "radical environmental lobby" has "stymied" Bakken oil field development

Summary: An editorial in The Pueblo Chieftain suggested falsely that "radical" environmentalists had "stymied" energy exploration in the Bakken formation of North Dakota and Montana, as they had done in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and asked whether "cooler heads" will prevail and "allow this and other resources to be developed?" But the Bakken is undergoing energy development and has been for some time.

In a June 10 editorial, The Pueblo Chieftain suggested inaccurately that because of the "radical environmental lobby," federal policy bars production of the Bakken oil deposits of North Dakota and Montana just as it does those in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), asking, "Will cooler heads finally prevail in Washington to allow this and other resources to be developed?" In fact, as government documents make clear, energy development has been widespread in the Bakken for some time. For example, the website of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources maintains a document presenting the "Evolution of Oil Production in the Bakken Formation" from the 1950s to the present." Similarly, a document maintained on the Montana Department of Environmental Quality website notes, "Production from Richland County's Elm Coulee wells in the Bakken formation alone has almost doubled the state's oil production in recent years." Further, several recent national media reports have documented a rush of development in the Bakken formation.

The Chieftain discussed an April 2008 report of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that "estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil ... in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota."

From the June 10 editorial in The Pueblo Chieftain, "Why 4 bucks?":

What seemed unimaginable by many just a year ago has happened: The average price of gasoline across the nation has hit $4.

[...]

The radical environmental lobby has stymied attempts to open a tiny piece of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, arguing that it would harm caribou and befoul the environment. The history of the Alaska Pipeline would teach otherwise. Similarly, proposals to drill in coastal areas have met with unyielding resistance. Heaven forbid that Barbra Streisand should have to see a drilling platform off the Pacific shore.

Meanwhile, in Canada, a great deal of new exploration has begun in areas known to hold a treasure trove of energy. The same could happen in the United States.

The U.S. Geological Survey recently published its official results of a groundbreaking study that confirms a massive oil reserve in an area the locals have nicknamed the "Bakken," which stretches across North Dakota, Montana and southeastern Saskatchewan.

The study reports a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered, compared to the agency's 1995 estimate. Discovered over 50 years ago, the Bakken deposit -- once impossible to extract -- is now being hailed as the single largest oil find in U.S. history.

That's because, today, thanks to breakthrough drilling techniques like horizontal drilling -- the same technique that would be used at ANWR -- the Bakken's oil can be extracted relatively cheaply. If that happens, this light, sweet oil could cost Americans just $16 per barrel. Compare that to Monday's $135 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Will cooler heads finally prevail in Washington to allow this and other resources to be developed? Or will those who would want us to freeze in the dark -- and shuck our cars for bicycles -- continue their grip on the pols?

Something to consider come Election Day.

In addition to the official documents maintained by the states of North Dakota and Montana showing longstanding energy development in the region, reporting on the Bakken contradicts the Chieftain's associating the formation with lands such as those in ANWR that are barred from development because of the purported "radical environmental lobby."

A March 17 online report by The Kiplinger Letter noted that the previous obstacles to developing the Bakken stemmed largely from technical difficulties in extracting the oil:

Until now, the obstacles to production seemed overwhelming. The crude oil is locked away in rocks that are buried miles underground in the Bakken Play, a field that stretches into Montana and Saskatchewan, Canada.

But times have changed. High oil prices and new technology make it worth the effort. Computer analysis and remote sensing systems, plus smart drills that can probe horizontally or snake left and right, vastly improve the odds of locating new pools and putting them into production.

Kiplinger also noted that "Marathon Oil recently acquired about 200,000 acres in the area and will drill about 300 oil wells within five years. Brigham Exploration and Crescent Point Energy Trust are also interested in some of the action."

As Bloomberg News reported June 3, among many other companies developing the resource, EOG Resources Inc. alone "has eight rigs running on 320,000 acres of mineral leases in the North Dakota Bakken, and in March one of its wells "produced 2,305 barrels, according to the North Dakota Industrial Commission." The Bloomberg article further noted, in a passage linking to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, that while "the 10.4 billion barrels estimated to be recoverable in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, remains off limits -- as a nature conservation measure... North Dakota, already crisscrossed by farm roads, is open for business."

Additionally, as the Associated Press reported April 10, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) requested the USGS report and hailed its findings that "[t]his is 25 times the amount of the previous assessment" done in 1995, saying, "This is great news." The AP further reported:

Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said the number of wells in the Bakken in North Dakota increased from about 300 in 2006 to 457 at the end of last year.

—E.B.