Published by Gbaf News
Posted on July 26, 2014
4 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
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By LouiseTaylor
• North Dakota 1 of only 5 states to ever produce 1 million barrels of oil per day (NDPC)
• North Dakota tops list of states for economic growth for fourth consecutive year (BEA)
• $11 million per day being gathered in oil tax by North Dakota (NDPC)
A landmark in the US’s energy production history has just been confirmed, with the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) announcing that the state finally surpassed the elusive one million barrels of oil per day production figure:
“In April, North Dakota surpassed one million barrels of daily oil production for the first time, putting the state in an exclusive group of only a few countries, states, provinces and oilfields ever to do so.”
North Dakota actually achieved the one million barrel mark in April of this year, but the figure has only just been confirmed. It marks a significant moment in the US’s journey towards eventual energy independence. According to the NDPC, the amount equates to 75% of the US’s average daily imports from Saudi Arabia, or 13% of the nation’s total daily imports.
Only five states have ever reached the one million barrels per day level of production and of those five only Texas and North Dakota are currently producing at that level. The rate positions North Dakota as one of the top oil producers in the world.
The effect on the state has been profound. Money has poured into the coffers thanks to the oil and gas extraction and production taxes. According to the NDPC, one million barrels of oil will deposit more than $11 million per day in North Dakota’s coffers, while contributing $50 million per day to the state’s economy. Not a bad result considering the first oil well in the Bakken Formation oilfields wasn’t drilled until 2006. Since that time, US reliance on oil imports has reduced by 18.5%, reports the NDPC.
Naturally, some challenges have accompanied such a rapid oil boom. Housing the tens of thousands of workers who flooded into the state to find their fortune has not been easy and, given the long-term nature of the Bakken oil play, will continue to be a challenge over the months and years ahead. Robert Gavin, Group CEO of award-winning developer North Dakota Developments, explains,
“There are towns in North Dakota which are almost unrecognisable today, compared with a few years ago. Tens of thousands of workers have arrived in the state, many followed by their families once the longevity of the Bakken oil play was established. They all need somewhere to live, somewhere to buy food, somewhere to shop for clothes and other necessities, schools for the children – the list is endless. The state has struggled to keep up in some cases due to the sheer numbers of new residents arriving.”
Gavin’s company, North Dakota Developments, is at least able to take care of one element of the challenge – housing the oil and services workers in its innovative Great American Lodge executive hotel studios. Investment in the sites has sold out almost as fast as the company can present them to the market. The company’s fourth site, Great American Lodge Watford East, has just been opened up for investment, with superior studios available for $54,950, with yields of 28.5%.
Investors from around the globe have been attracted by North Dakota’s incredible story, which the Bureau of Economic Analysis has confirmed positions North Dakota as the top state for economic growth for the fourth consecutive year. Indeed, last year saw the state’s GDP increase by 9.7%. Growth over the past four years has averaged 12% annually, compared to the 2% national average. With such impressive figures being generated year on year by North Dakota, it really does seem as though the US dream of independence, certainly so far as energy is concerned, is becoming ever more achievable.
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