Entrepreneurs In the Oil Patch -- Without Help From the Government

This is a New York Times article from the Marcellus, but the same stories are being told in the Bakken.

He parlayed 1 truck into 8 and now has a fleet of 53. Then he revived a weedy rail spur and now leases 210 rail cars to haul more waste containers. His work force grew to 180 from 30 as he created a business that now has revenues of $45 million a year.

Other residents also began taking advantage of the “gas rush.” Some supplied the companies with machine parts; others laid pipe. One entrepreneurial couple opened a food wagon where they also sell alpaca socks to drillers from Louisiana and Texas who were unprepared for the cold.

The gas boom is transforming small towns like this one (population 4,400 and growing) and revitalizing the economy of this once-forgotten stretch of rural northeastern Pennsylvania. The few hotels here have expanded, restaurants are packed and housing rentals have more than doubled.

The New York Times will point out the downside, I'm sure. I didn't read any more than I posted.

The stories are exactly the same in Williston. Some mom-and-pop trucking companies have gone from a handful of trucks to hundreds of trucks. More restaurants would open if employees could be found.