Energizing Montana
Mark Green
Posted September 6, 2016
The Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota is one of America’s greatest oil repositories. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the basin’s Bakken and Three Forks formations could produce 7.4 billion barrels of crude oil.
Click on the thumbnail to open a two-page energy infographic for Big Sky Country.
Montana also is coal-rich. EIA estimates that one-fourth of the nation’s recoverable coal reserves are in Montana, and it produces more than 4 percent of U.S. coal. Not surprisingly, 55 percent of the state’s net electricity generation is fueled by coal. EIA says Montanans use about half the electricity the state generates, with the rest sent to other western states.
On the infrastructure side, Montana has four oil refineries, mostly processing crude from Canada – our No. 1 source of imported oil – and Wyoming. Its Baker/Cedar Creek field is the nation’s largest single underground natural gas storage facility, EIA reports.
Back to the Bakken: Thanks to it, Montana is a leading energy producer in an energy nation – one that leads the world in oil and natural gas output. America’s ongoing energy renaissance is largely due to private energy investment and development – in the Bakken and other energy-rich fields.
Pro-development policies are needed to sustain and grow U.S. energy production, continuing the benefits of energy abundance: jobs, economic growth, household savings and greater energy security. Page 2 of the infographic includes a chart that illustrates the benefits of a pro-development path, contrasted with the negative impacts of policies characterized by regulatory constraints.
Energy is essential for virtually every aspect of our daily lives. It powers national, state and local economies, gets us to work and goes into products we rely on for health and comfort. Safe, responsible energy development here at home is linked to national security as well as Americans’ individual prosperity and liberty – in Montana and all the 50 states of energy.
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.