Neat Infographic: The Burgeoning Bakken

Readers of this blog are no doubt up to speed with the revolution in drilling technology—collectively known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”–that has unleashed an American energy boom. Thanks to fracking, U.S. oil production grew by a record 1.136 million barrels a day last year to 8.121 million barrels a day. Gas production has increased by even greater leaps and bounds, such that there is clamoring on Capitol Hill to facilitate gas exports as a strategic geopolitical asset.

North Dakota has been a locus of the U.S. energy renaissance. It is the home of the Bakken formation, one of North America’s largest oil-rich shale plays unlocked by fracking. The economic impact has been eye-popping. The State now proudly claims the nation’s lowest unemployment and a per-person gross domestic output significantly higher than the national average. Last week, the Department of Labor released statistics showing that the citizens of North Dakota enjoyed the fastest year over year increase in personal income at 7.6 percent. Current per capita income in North Dakota is $57,000, second only to Connecticut, and has increased by almost 50 percent since 2009.

To better understand how the domestic energy industry is at work in North Dakota, check out the great infographic below, “The Burgeoning Bakken,” from Hart Energy by way of the Unconventional Oil & Gas Center.

The Burgeoning Bakken, to learn more about the Bakken shale play and whats happening in the different shale plays visit the Unconventional Oil and Gas Center, a Hart Energy publication.