Not long ago, the Bakken play centered in North Dakota was the center of the U.S. shale oil boom. It was the great Bakken that gave North Dakota the fastest growing GDP per capita rate in the country. Started in 2014, however, the oil price collapse stung the Bakken more than most, especially since infrastructure constraints have left its crude trading at ~$10 discount to WTI. The Bakken though remains 1 of just 10 oil fields globally that yield over 1 million b/d and is the third largest U.S. shale oil field, behind Texas' Permian and Eagle Ford. The contentious 1,172-mile, potentially 600,000 b/d Dakota Access Pipeline that started full operations last June was a milestone.

Source: Forbes May 16, 2018 23:03 UTC