Over the last decade, oil and gas production in the U.S. has skyrocketed, and North Dakota is leading the way. According to the Star-Tribune, the Roughrider State has seen a twenty-fold increase in oil production over the last six years.
In April, a record 10,658 wells in the state yielded a total of 1,001,149 barrels, or approximately 12 percent of domestic oil production. Only Texas produces more crude than North Dakota.
This surge in production definitely has North Dakotans talking up the idea of energy independence.
“People can step back and say, ‘We don’t care that much about what OPEC does anymore,’” said North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness, reflecting on past decades when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries controlled world oil supplies.
Read more HERE.