NE North Dakota News

U.S. Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright visited the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) last week to discuss efforts aimed at increasing oil production in North Dakota’s Bakken Formation. The visit included meetings with U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak, and Gov. Kelly Armstrong.

Wright, who founded Liberty Energy and has experience in hydraulic fracturing technology, spoke about the state’s role in the nation’s energy sector. He referred to North Dakota as “the best-governed state in the nation,” highlighting the impact of Hoeven’s tenure as governor from 2000 to 2010 on fostering a business-friendly environment that attracted energy innovators.

Wright described this period as “cracking the code 1.0,” noting it led to increased investment in fracturing technology and spurred an oil boom in western North Dakota's Bakken Formation. He said, “Twenty years ago, the United States was the largest importer of oil and natural gas in the world — the most energy-dependent. To change the economic game for our country and reset global oil prices, the shale revolution had to transfer from just natural gas to include oil. Where did that happen? Right here in North Dakota.”

He added that advancements in fracking have helped position the U.S. as a leading exporter of liquefied natural gas and an expanding exporter of oil.

Despite these gains, production from the Bakken has dropped from a peak of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2019 to about 1.1 million barrels today, according to Hoeven, who warned that output could fall further without new approaches.

To address this decline, officials are looking at enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which involves injecting captured carbon dioxide into deep wells to increase output—a strategy Hoeven refers to as “cracking the code 2.0.” Wright said unconventional reservoirs like those in Bakken often yield only about 10% of their reserves but believes EOR could potentially double this figure.

Hoeven also emphasized that using CO2 for EOR could extend operations at coal-fired power plants by providing a use for captured emissions: “What makes more sense than using our coal plants to get the CO2 to do it? We have 700 years of lignite coal reserves — so we have to keep those coal plants around for a while.”

“Nobody has figured out how to do this; we want to be the place that does,” he said.

Governor Armstrong expressed confidence in North Dakota’s ability to lead on EOR efforts: “I have the easiest job in the world right now,” he joked. “I have a senator who was governor during the start of the oil boom, a congresswoman who served on the public service commission and a secretary of energy who understands the Bakken.”