500-Bed Man Camp in Watford City Nearing Completion -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

This is the kind of story that is easy for one to skip over, but my hunch is that it might eventually be picked up by a national print media, such as Forbes. (Regional links break early and break often.)

The story is a great human-interest story but is also filled with a few interesting data points about the strength of the Bakken.

First Millennium Construction and Millenium Lodging is based out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and caters to the energy industry, but predominantly along the Gulf, and is owned by Nathian Hossley.

It sounds like Hossley was doing well in the south and didn't have much interest in taking operations to the Bakken. It turned out that one of his former Louisiana neighbors, Jarvis Green, an ex-NFL football player with two Super Bowl rings, now living in Denver, Colorado, kept hearing about the Bakken and wanted to get involved in some manner.

Interestingly, Green had majored in engineering at LSU.

Green finally convinced Hossley to let him join the company with an eye toward opportunities in the Bakken.

The company is now taking advantage of one opportunity.

First Millenium is building a 500-person man camp on County Road 35 (14th Street NW), Watford City. It should be completed by November (2011). County Road 35 is exactly one mile to the west of the turn of highway 85 in south Watford City.

For newbies, Watford City:

• is the gateway to the Teddy Roosevelt National Park, north unit,
• right in the center of the Bakken,
• about 50 miles southeast of Williston -- the heart of the Bakken, and
• home of one of the best steak houses in the country.

The man-camp, or lodge, dining facility will bring gumbo and crawfish to the north.

With regard to the cold weather in North Dakota, this is what I found most telling. From the article:

It can be tough to deal with for the first time but Green said he knows what to expect after years in Massachusetts and Denver.

"I've played in 20 degree below weather before," he said. "I played sleeveless. I've done that. I've practiced in that stuff. When I was in New England and it snowed and was below zero, we practiced outside."

Green said the first thing he plans to when winter hits is find a snowboard and head to the biggest hill he can find.

"I can't wait. I'm a snow guy," Green said.

Others with First Millenium won't be so welcoming when the snow comes. Green is looking forward to seeing their reaction.

"I laugh at all the other guys from Louisiana," he said. "I tell them they are going to have some [rough times]."

First Millenium plans to request a permit for a 1000-person lodge next spring (2012), a major truck stop, and more.

In the oil service industry in the Bakken, I would have to agree that truck stops and truck parking areas are needed most, following housing.

Right now, trucks are parked on every vacant lot, every side in the industrial zone, and to the best of my knowledge, there are no truck stops in the Bakken that can meet the demands of the boom. The first new truck stop to be built in the boom appears to be the one going up north of Williston, on a 720-acre parcel of land, right where the kick-off point for the new Williston truck reliever bypass will begin. Construction on that bypass will begin in 2013.

Anyway, I digress. Go to the Williston Herald link to read the full story. As noted above, my hunch is that the story will be picked up by someone in the national print media.

******************

A couple last thoughts:

A fair number of folks have written about their concerns regarding man-camps, but I think they are a superb answer to a difficult question. Developers are learning a lot about man-camps, and the lessons they learn will be useful for many things, including natural disasters. Just as Wal-Mart is able to get to a disaster area before FEMA with necessary supplies, man-camp developers may find another niche providing emergency housing for folks affected by natural disasters.

In the Bakken, these man-camps are temporary; they will eventually reach a peak, plateau and then decline. They help prevent over-building permanent housing units, a problem that has plagued cities in previous oil booms.

A second thought: I much appreciate the comment "anonymous" sent to me a long time regarding the "cold" in North Dakota. There's a whole nation north of us (called Canada) with worse winter conditions than North Dakota and that country is doing just fine. Interestingly enough, I have not yet met one Bakken truck driver or rough neck who is afraid of the cold, the snow, or the ice. They respect it but don't fear it. I run into many of them at Home of Economy (my favorite store at the moment) buying winter clothes, preparing for the winter. I think there's something about these guys that love the challenge.