From the Billings Gazette:
Some 50 Billings businesses are busy answering the calls from 350 oil companies hungry for workers, trucks, pipe and more, so they can keep pumping crude out of Eastern Montana and western North Dakota.I don't think I was alone when I thought the surge in the Bakken was coming to an end and we might start to see a leveling off of activity.
The stakes are high: an estimated $1.5 billion is being spent each month drilling in the Bakken.
In fact, ties to the Bakken boom are so strong in Yellowstone County that the air carrier Silver Airways, formerly called Gulfstream International, is considering adding a direct flight to Williston, N.D., from Billings.
That thought was fostered by all the talk of operators entering the "manufacturing phase" in the Bakken. We may have been entered the "manufacturing phase" but it is clear that does not mean the end of the surge. After all, now the "factories have to be built.
Many months ago I had read, maybe even posted there were 350 oil-related companies in Williston. The linked Billing Gazette story confirms that.
Data points from the article:
- 200 rigs in the Bakken
- Nine rigs on the Montana side with more coming
- CLR plans to drill 400 wells around Richland County
- Eleven-mile stretch from Fairview to Sidney, one night: 155 trucks
- Sidney at 10,000, could double in a couple of years
- Bainville population of 150 has doubled; same with Culbertson and Plentywood
- Sewer systems maxed out everywhere
- Nemont Telephone is working on 23 building projects around Williston
Former Kalispell trucker Berosik, who's seen a lot of cities during his 1.5-million-mile career, said the "the nicest, cleanest town around" has fallen victim to runaway development.
"Used to be you'd drive into Williston, and if you needed a hand, they'd be happy to help you," he said. "Now they won't even look at you, and you can't blame them."