290 Rigs in the Bakken? Typo? Timeline? -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

A big "thank you" to "anon 1" for finding this story.

Someone had tweeted the "290" but didn't supply a source or link. I looked for the story but couldn't find it.

The story is about how slowly the Niobrara seems to be developing.

[A spokesman] said there is too little information yet to determine how successful the play will be in the end.

This is because of the low number of commercial wells and rules that allow companies to keep their results confidential for up to six months.

"We just haven't seen enough drilling rigs and enough activity to really know if there is a play yet," he said.

Another reason for the oil play's slowdown could be because of increased activity in North Dakota, [the spokesman] said.

He said the Bakken oil play is gearing up to have 170 active drilling rigs and up to 290 by the end of the year. That could leave a shortage of equipment and workers for activity here.

"They claim that they are using many new rigs, so that may not be a problem," Doll said. "But my concern is: Where are you going to get the drillers, roughnecks and (fracking) crews who are trained to do the sophisticated work?"

In fact, North Dakota already has about 180 active rigs; I'm not sure what he meant by "gearing up to have 170 active drilling rigs." Is this an old story? 

The question is where will the Niobrara get those "drillers, roughnecks and (fracking) crews who are trained to do the sophisticated work" if they are all tied up in the Bakken? By the way, North Dakota as the same six-month confidentiality rule.