Over the last 3 months, the number of oil rigs in North Dakota’s oil patch has increased by 25 percent. The overall number of oil rigs now operating in the patch is triple what it was a year ago, says the state Department of Mineral Resources. Could more North Dakota oil jobs become available?
The huge growth has been attributed to numerous factors including the BP oil spill which has prompted many companies to drill on land instead of offshore. Another factor is the strong crude oil prices of late, coupled with the weak prices of natural gas. On Monday the 14th June 2010 crude oil from North Dakota was fetching $75 per barrel, which is a $25 improvement from last year.
Currently North Dakota’s oil patch is home to 127 oil rigs, mostly drilling the Bakken Shale and the Three Forks-Sanish oil reservoirs in the West. These offer excellent oil rig job opportunities. In fact, according to statistics, each new oil rig that comes to drill in North Dakota brings with it 40 direct North Dakota oil jobs, and 80 indirect ones.
Due to the collapsing natural gas prices, most of the drilling rigs that are capable of drilling horizontal gas shales, can also drill the Bakken, which means that all they have to do is move the rig to North Dakota. Lynn Helms, the Department Director, said that they are also aware, if the natural gas starts recovering that they will probably lose some of those oil rigs once again.
North Dakota is looking strong though, with the highest number of rigs being passed in March since 1982 at 100. There are currently 4810 active wells as of April 2010 and these produce about 284, 345 barrels of crude a day, and since 2006, North Dakota has been the 4th largest oil producer in North America, jumping up from 9th place. The record number of barrels was produced last year at 79.9 million.
If you want to get in on this lucrative business and start working in oil fields and with oil companies, earning great amounts of money, you should find out more about the North Dakota oil industry at Oil Job Finder. Here you can also learn about other forms of oil production and gas production, and gain access to the Job Board where you can find the most current job openings.
When you become a member you will also be able to build a professional resume and get tips and advice for getting the oil or gas job that you want, easily. Once you are a member you can also look at various employer profiles and get in depth information about each oil and gas job including the job description, working hours, expected salary, and qualifications that might be needed.
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