oil – Page 8 – Dustin Monke

Enough is enough with Keystone XL

I’ve always wondered about the people who protest certain topics. Are they really that upset? Does everything rile them up that much? Does somebody pay these people to protest? Is this their job?

Lately, every time there is political movement on the Keystone XL pipeline, there’s an environmental activist group there with a protest — though we don’t get to see it because the protests usually only take place in a coastal California city like San Francisco or Los Angeles, and, of course, Washington, D.C. Both places are so far from where the proposed pipeline would go that one has to wonder why people would protest for something they’ve likely never seen in a place they’ve likely never been nor ever plan to go.

Continue reading “Enough is enough with Keystone XL”

Dickinson’s little world hinges on the big picture

A look at the neighboring Halliburton and Baker Hughes campuses in north Dickinson.

Last week brought word of numerous brand-name businesses planning to open in Dickinson.

Franchisees of Famous Dave’s barbecue restaurants are making plans to come here — though they aren’t sure where or when — and Five Diamond properties says Petco, JoAnn Fabrics and Dollar Tree are among the retailers planning to lease space in its new development planned for west Dickinson. The Roers West Ridge development has Menards and hotels that are sure to draw other big-box stores. Who knows? Maybe someone will even bring in Target for those of you who can’t stand Walmart.

I say this all the time because I believe it will be true: At the rate we’re going, there is going to be an entirely new part of Dickinson off Interstate 94’s Exit 59 in a couple of years.

Continue reading “Dickinson’s little world hinges on the big picture”

Despite being away from Bakken, New England is experiencing a resurgence

NEW ENGLAND — There isn’t a producing oil well within 15 miles of New England.
But just like many other western North Dakota communities, the small town in northwestern Hettinger County is seeing a revitalization thanks in large part to the economic impact of the Bakken oil boom.

Several new homes are being built, and the city’s population has increased from 460 a few years ago to an estimated 700.

Business isn’t exactly booming, but it has seen a noticeable uptick with more sales tax dollars being generated, longtime community businesses building new facilities and new businesses opening along a once-decaying Main Street.

All are great signs for a small town that only a few years ago seemed relegated to watching businesses close as its population grew older and dwindled.

“Main Street in New England hasn’t probably looked this good in 30 years,” New England Mayor Marty Opdahl said.

Continue reading “Despite being away from Bakken, New England is experiencing a resurgence”

Rig tour an eye-opening education on oil industry details

Over the last four years, it seems like all conversations in and about North Dakota have centered on oil and the impact it has made on the local landscape, culture and bank accounts.

Countless stories have been written and who knows how many more have yet to play out.
Last Monday, I was fortunate enough to see, smell and touch the source of those stories thanks to a rig tour provided by Whiting Petroleum Corp.

Blaine Hoffmann, Whiting’s superintendent for the Northern Rockies based in Dickinson, accompanied me and two European journalists to a rig southwest of Belfield. My main duty on the tour was to assist and be a photographer for Swiss journalist Charlotte Jacquemart, a business reporter for the New Zurich Times, who is in western North Dakota reporting on the oil boom and hydraulic fracturing.

Now I’ve read a lot about oil and the boom and have had a hand in some stories. But on Monday, I finally got my education.

Continue reading “Rig tour an eye-opening education on oil industry details”