Bakken Construction Summit, Bismarck Civic Center, Sept 25 - 26, 2013; $1 Billion In Construction Value In 2012 In North Dakota's Oil Patch

The press release:

The Bakken Construction Summit, slated for Sept. 25 and 26, 2013 at the Civic Center in Bismarck, ND, brings together the construction and real estate development industries, service providers and other stakeholders to connect and explore construction and development markets and opportunities throughout the Williston Basin.

Although the energy industry is the driving force of economic activity in the Williston Basin, it's the construction and real estate development industries that are needed to build out the housing, industrial, commercial and other infrastructure imperative to sustaining energy and economic development in the Bakken.

"Bakken development actually started in 2000 with discovery of the Elm Coulee field in Sidney, Montana and took off in earnest in 2006 in North Dakota with EOG's Parshall Discovery. With more than twelve or six years of energy development behind us, depending on which benchmark you use, the construction industry still has a long ways to catch up to the needs of the region."

In 2012, three cities in western North Dakota logged over $1 billion in building permit valuations. Williston, Dickinson, and Minot recorded roughly $440 million, $408 million, and $247 million, respectively. Factor in Watford City, Stanley and Tioga valuations, western North Dakota's construction activity well surpassed $1 billion in construction values.