Bakken Companies in Europe

Companies that pioneered horizontal drilling and fracturing technology are moving into Europe.

For newbies, this technology and horizontal drilling is referred to as "unconventional" oil plays, always in shale, as far as I know, although obviously they drill directionally off-shore.

I could be wrong (I usually am) but I think it was Marathon that pioneered horizontal drilling, along with one-stage fracturing. And I think they first did that here in North Dakota or eastern Montana. It seems just like yesterday that one-stage fracturing was all the rage; now the norm seems to be 12 fracturing stages per short lateral, 24 stages for long laterals.