Get Out Your Roadmap to Prosperity – Bakken or Bust !
Well this couch potato is tired of coming home after a long day at work to vegetate in front of the TV and listen to a bunch of talking heads tell me just how bad this economy really is as well as just what’s wrong with the world. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised by the premier of NBC’s Rock Center’s opening story, “Oil Boom Town – Williston North Dakota” on October 31st.
If you’ve been following the Bakken oil patch you’ve become aware that this is a world class technology oil play that is a complete game changer. This is not a boom, but rather permanent industrial infrastructure that is unfolding before our very eyes. What is booming however are jobs!
In traditional job hunting you find the job first and look for a place to live second. Throughout the Bakken oil patch it’s the exact opposite. According to Kevin Paschke, Executive Director of the Williston Chamber of Commerce you should, “Focus most of your time on trying to find housing. Because if you can find housing you can secure a job. So don’t think it’s a 90% job hunt, like you do where you’re at, and 10% housing. It’s 90% housing and 10% looking for the job.”
Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources believes that there are over 18,000 existing openings in the “patch”. And that number is only going to grow. While there are currently 3,000 wells either completed or under development in North Dakota, it’s estimated that the Bakken will eventually house 50,000 oil wells. Even after completion, most of these wells will produce for 30 years. It will take 8 to 10 direct and indirect employees to support each completed well. This not only translates to jobs now, but in the future. It means massive industrial, commercial and residential infrastructure to support this land of prosperity.
