3 Interesting Facts About The North Dakota Oil Boom

1. Production of oil in North Dakota has increased over 600%. It went from 36 million barrels of oil in 2005 all the way up to 237 million barrels of oil in 2012. There's now over 8300 active wells in North Dakota which are producing more than 783,000 barrels of oil a day. This state has gone from the number 8 oil producing state to the number 2 oil producing state in a period of just under 7 years.

2. A new oil well costs upwards of $10 million to build in the Bakken oil fields. About $3 million more than other oil producing regions in the US like Texas. Each wellis expected to generate in excess of $20 million in profits. That will help the state with $4.4 million in taxes and $1.6 million in salaries and wages. The state of North Dakota also receives an oil royalty of over $7 and a half million dollars.

3. There's estimated to be over 40,000 oil industry jobs in North Dakota. There's also an additional 18,000 jobs supporting the oil industry. The hub of the oil industry is in the town of Williston, North Dakota. The state of North Dakota only has a 3% unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in Williston is around 1%.