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Officials Discuss Parameters of North Dakota Oil Study

Energy industry officials say a new estimate of recoverable oil in North Dakota and the surrounding area needs to take into account more crude formations and rapidly advancing technology.

Energy industry officials say a new estimate of recoverable oil in North Dakota and the surrounding area needs to take into account more crude formations and rapidly advancing technology.

The U.S. Geological Survey has begun updating its estimate of oil resources in the Williston Basin in North Dakota, western Montana and northwestern South Dakota. Program Coordinator Walter Guidroz told state and industry officials Wednesday it should be done by year's end.

The USGS in 2013 estimated 7.4 billion barrels of oil could be recovered from the basin's Bakken and Three Forks shale formations. State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms says there are 17 other, smaller formations that also show potential with new technology.

North Dakota already produces more than a million barrels of oil daily—about 12 percent of U.S. production.

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