What are the oil reserves in the Bakken Formation?
The USGS provides estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources that have yet to be found (drilled), but if found, could be produced using currently available technology and industry practices. These estimates are based on knowledge about the geology of the area.
In contrast, reserves are oil resources that are already discovered, recoverable, and commercial. The USGS does not provide data on oil reserves.
For production information in the Bakken Formation, check with the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, and/or the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. For more information and statistics on current U.S. and World oil production and drilling activities, please visit the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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USGS Releases New Oil and Gas Assessment for Bakken and Three Forks Formations
On April 30, 2013, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) released an updated oil and gas resource assessment for the Bakken Formation and a new assessment for the Three Forks Formation in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The assessments found that the formations contain an estimated mean of 7.4 billion barrels (BBO) of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil. The updated...
3 to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil assessed in Bakken Formation
USGS Bakken expert to present findings at Energy Expo in Bismarck
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Richard Pollastro, lead researcher on a recent study assessing the undiscovered oil resources in the Bakken Formation, will present at the Great Plains Energy Expo in Bismarck on Tuesday, November 11.
3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken Formation—25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate—
North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.
Well Drill in the Bakken Formation near Williston
Water truck in background is providing maintenance water to a producing well drilled in the Bakken Formation near Williston, North Dakota.
Bakken Well in North Dakota
Bakken well in North Dakota (Photograph by Joanna Thamke, USGS).
Bakken Drilling
Bakken drilling and completion activities at a well along Interstate-94, 6 miles east of Belfield, North Dakota.
Bakken Drill Rig
A drill rig in the Bakken oil field in Stark County, western North Dakota.
Bakken Drill Rig
A drill rig in the Bakken oil field in Stark County, western North Dakota.
Bakken Oil Well
Oil-well pads dotting the landscape of typical badland topography. Thousands of new wells are drilled into the Bakken and Three Forks annually, making this one of the most productive plays in the Nation.