Long-term growth fueled by oil and gas production in the Bakken shale formation means sustained opportunities for support services.
It’s an industry, not a boom. The statement was buried mid-way through a story in The Missoulian detailing the Opportunities in North Dakota: The Bakken and Montana Expansion Summit.
Williston (N.D.) Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Tom Rolfstad delivered the message in June, telling summit attendees that modest estimates show drilling could last another 25 years. The extraordinarily high success rate of wells in the Bakken will play a big role in sustaining the growth and maintaining the industry.
A halo effect from the explosive growth in the Bakken region is now spreading across the country due to a severe need in that area for everything from 50,000 rail cars to help haul oil to ports, to skilled workers to build dozens of transformer stations across the area, to bedding for worker camps.
The notion that it isn’t a boom may be met with skepticism from locals in Williston, Minot and other towns across the shale formation who have seen quiet communities, empty roads and desolate landscapes morph into hubs of activity and industry with everything from drilling rigs to new water treatment plants transforming the skyline over the endless miles of farm-turned-oil fields.
Still, taking Rolfstad at his word means a bright future for support services companies operating or looking to move into the region. There are tremendous opportunities for people and businesses providing the services that are critical for gas and oil companies looking to expand. And it’s not just the companies that are providing oilfield-specific services; it’s septic pumpers, road builders, general construction contractors and anyone else who is providing goods or services that the oil companies and their people need while they establish new well sites and residences.
When you look at trucking alone, the average well in the Bakken formation generates 1,012 rig-related movements per year, for sand, water, equipment, pipe, fuel and a host of other necessities, according to statistics from the Williston Economic Development Corporation.
And that’s just one direct impact. There is also an insatiable need for a number of other products, including wire for new power lines, transformers and substations, power poles, frac sand for wells, protective rig mats, lumber for new houses, trucks, fiberglass and steel tanks, pipe, pump jacks and countless other goods and services.
Williston itself has been the fastest growing micropolitan community in the nation for two consecutive years and is home to over 400 oilfield businesses, including the top 10 oilfield service companies, not to mention all the other businesses that indirectly serve the industry. In total, over 31 percent of Williston’s employment base is contributed to mining. And not only is it the largest employment sector, it’s the fastest growing.
The takeaway here is that oil and gas operations across the Bakken formation, not just in the Williston area, are providing tremendous opportunities for oilfield service providers. As Rolfstad says, it’s not just a boom, it’s an industry, and it’s going to last for a long time.
That’s not to say everyone who goes into business is going to find easy or immediate success, but there is clearly opportunity for those who work hard and build their businesses carefully. Here’s hoping you can take advantage of the opportunity.
Enjoy this month’s issue.
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