Report says up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil in Bakken shale

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The government estimates up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil can be recovered from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana, using current technology.

The U.S. Geological Survey calls it the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.


The Bakken Formation encompasses some 25,000 square miles in North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. About two-thirds of the acreage is in western North Dakota, where the oil is trapped in a thin layer of dense rock nearly two miles beneath the surface.

The report released Thursday by USGS was done over the past 18 months at the request of Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota.

AP