Henry Bakken would have become a billionaire today; while many would have heard of the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana in the US, several are still unaware of the fact how the shale formation is making that area boom economically.
The US shale hype is no ex nihilo. Oil production and economic activities are on the rise in the district, and the Bakken oil boom is at least five times greater than the oil boom in the 80s according to the data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
In addition, the non-renewable resource rich land now accounts for about 11 percent of total US oil production with unemployment dipping further in the region towards the close of 2012.
The Bakken shale gas and tight oil revolution has stirred up quite a bit of hype about the transformation of the US and the global oil market. The discovery of shale formation 1950s has certainly turned tables for the US: a country that is expected to move from being a net importer of gas to an exporter in less than a decades time.
What comes as a surprise is how fast it is happening! Last years outlook led the way in showing how North America is likely to become self-sufficient in energy. This years edition follows up by examining more closely the phenomenon which is driving Americas energy revival, the revolution in shale gas and tight oil, including its global prospects, confirms Bob Dudley, the CEO of the energy giant BP in the latest energy outlook.
The forecast suggests that the shale gas production in North America will grow by a little above five percent per annum to reach 54bcf/d by 2030. Accordingly, this will make US a net exporter of gas by 2017. This is in no comparison to the European countries where even with significant shale reserves, production from shale will not offset the declining production from conventional reservoirs.
Similarly the Saudi America mantra has been going around for some time now, especially after IEA claimed that the US will snatch oil production leadership from Saudi Arabia and Russia by 2020.
Amid all the environmental and investment risks, what makes US the eye candy when there are more shale reserves in China than the US? It is the production and exploration capacities that the region has garnered with magnificent support from its road, rail, and transportation infrastructure.
Also, with a quite a huge number of players entering the industry, the US oil industry has enough cash to dig and fracture for a long time. And with oil prices staying perked up, there is no end to this over optimism!
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