A coalition of oil industry leaders and state officials, including Governor Kelly Armstrong and U.S. Senator John Hoeven, is mobilizing support for the next stage of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) research project. Officials hope this initiative will double the amount of recoverable oil in North Dakota and extend the Bakken oil field’s longevity by decades.
Governor Armstrong stated that this effort represents “an entire new oil boom without the infrastructure challenges,” emphasizing its importance for the entire state, not just western North Dakota or the energy industry. Senator Hoeven, a Republican from North Dakota, is collaborating with Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit, a Tioga native, to secure $400 million in federal loan guarantees to help fund the expanded initiative.
Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, indicated that a request for state funding is anticipated during the upcoming legislative session, calling the current push "the jumpstart for that discussion."
Enhanced oil recovery typically involves injecting a gas, such as natural gas or carbon dioxide, into underground oil and gas formations. This process repressurizes the reservoirs, thereby increasing the amount of oil that can be extracted. Oil companies have been testing this technology for years through small-scale pilot projects.
Phase one of the current initiative, a $157 million effort, was announced in May and includes six large-scale pilot projects. These projects are designed to have 10 to 20 times the duration and volume of gas injections compared to earlier demonstrations, testing the EOR technologies in the field. Three of these projects are currently underway, a fourth has received a permit, and two more are awaiting regulatory approval.
Despite the ongoing first phase, the coalition is already working to launch the second phase of the effort. The goal is to secure funding for companies to implement the technology across a broader geographic area, moving beyond single-well tests to encompass up to 200 oil wells. Ness explained the urgency, stating, "Phase two is jumping over the top of phase one," and that the resource is too significant to wait another year for Phase One results. Governor Armstrong affirmed this concurrent approach, stating they are proceeding with multiple phases to accelerate development, with an "all-of-industry approach" and "all-of-government approach."
Senator Hoeven highlighted that the technology needs to be in widespread use by the end of 2032, coinciding with the expiration of a federal tax credit for using carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery projects. He also noted that North Dakota's oil production is currently 1.1 million barrels per day, down from 1.5 million barrels per day, and will continue to decline without EOR.
Danny Brown, CEO of Chord Energy, the largest operator in North Dakota and the only publicly traded oil company exclusively focused on the Williston Basin, affirmed the potential for "another potentially 10 billion barrels and decades of flatline production." He described EOR as a fundamentally different approach to oil extraction compared to current methods like horizontal drilling and fracturing.
Governor Armstrong further illustrated the long-term benefits, explaining that EOR could take an aging oil well producing 30 barrels of oil per day, increase its production to 100 barrels per day, and maintain that level for decades, akin to "an annuity." He acknowledged the risks of moving so quickly on the initiative but asserted that the opportunity cost of not acting is a "significantly bigger risk," potentially sacrificing a half-century of economic benefits for North Dakota.
