nebula Posted November 21, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Where the Jobs Are: The Amazing Oil Boom of Blessing in North Dakota Aimee Herd : Nov 21, 2011 : Harry Smith, Brian Williams - Rock Center, MSNBC "…step out in faith, because it's here. This is where opportunity is, in Williston, North Dakota." (Williston, ND)—All over the country there are many people out of work. Storefronts lie empty with "For Lease" signs posted; houses are vacant with foreclosure signs on the front lawn. Job outlooks seem bleak all over…that is, except in the northwest part of North Dakota. The town of Williston is experiencing an incredible boom, and is growing exponentially with employers scrambling to find workers. That's right, there are jobs there—LOTS of them! Why? Oil. Lying deep underneath parts of North Dakota, Montana and even Saskatchewan is about 200,000 square miles of oil-rich rock known as the Bakken Formation. Although it was discovered back in 1951, efforts to extract the oil from the rock were extremely difficult and mostly unproductive. (Photo: MSNBC) However, with the introduction of a new process known as "fracking"—artificially fracturing the rock with high pressure water causing it to release the oil—drilling has taken off and so has the need for more workers. Current estimates say there is at least 24 billion barrels of oil available in the Bakken Formation and possibly much more. Read the rest or watch the video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylu Posted November 21, 2011 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 7 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 77 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 9 Days Won: 1 Joined: 10/29/2011 Status: Offline Share Posted November 21, 2011 That article doesn't tell "the rest of the story". I grew up about 50 miles from Williston and still have property in the Bakken formation. I still have friends and relatives that live over there too. Yes, there are jobs galore there. However, housing demands have not at all kept up with the workers coming in. The roads are not built to handle the abundance of traffic that has come in, and crime rates have gone up too. I would say that it is cerainly a mixed blessing for folks in that area. Jobs yes. A logistical/practical nightmare too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebula Posted November 21, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Author Share Posted November 21, 2011 Actually, they do address the housing problem further along, at least in the video portion. The couple they interviewed are living in a one room basement. One man they interviewed is living in the back of a friend's truck. Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylu Posted November 22, 2011 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 7 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 77 Content Per Day: 0.02 Reputation: 9 Days Won: 1 Joined: 10/29/2011 Status: Offline Share Posted November 22, 2011 I just read the article--didn't get the video part watched. In Sidney, which is about 50 miles from Williston, there was a tent city at the county fair grounds this summer. Don't know how many were there, but they were people that had come to find work in the oil fields and in the Holly Sugar plant there which employs a lot of seasonal workers. It was also pretty much impossible to get a motel room in the area towns during the week as they were all full of oil workers too. It has been quite a phenomenon. Actually, they do address the housing problem further along, at least in the video portion. The couple they interviewed are living in a one room basement. One man they interviewed is living in the back of a friend's truck. Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmbld Posted November 22, 2011 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 4 Topic Count: 48 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,491 Content Per Day: 0.54 Reputation: 1,457 Days Won: 1 Joined: 10/23/2011 Status: Offline Birthday: 02/02/1971 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Yep, lots of jobs, lots of makeshift cities, and lots of businesses want to get a portion of that oil money! that is my problem, my company wants to repeatedly send my co-workers and I 300 miles away from home to cash in on that potential! Even though we are all working overtime at home! Ahhh, enough complaining, I am thankful for a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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