The Bakken Is Here To Stay -- The Dickinson Press

A North Dakota Statue University Study.

• Williston Basin 2012: projections of future employment and population (a PDF).
• The Dickinson Press report on same. 

Takeaways:

• estimate of wells to be drilled in the Williston Basin keeps going up (note: these are only Bakken/Three Forks estimates; the Spearfish and the Tyler will follow; posted earlier; the Helms update, January, 2013)

• 10 wells/rig now; 12 wells/rig by 2032 (note the date: 2032)
• 120 FTE/rig to 100 FTE/rig by 2016 (significant?)
• still at 150 rigs as late as 2024
• consensus projection: 40,000 wells; Helms differs significantly
• growth in employment "slows" in 2016, but continues to grow, just at a slower pace; will continue to increase through 2020; slow leveling off through 2036
• oil service employment surges from around 10,000 now to over 30,000 by 2026
•  the historic employment for Williston results in a stunning slide: flat at 11,000 from 1990 to 2006; then straight up to over 30,000 by 2010, and still growing
• NDSU divides the oil patch into three regions: Minot, Williston, and Dickinson
• Williston, 2030: 60,000 and levels off, employment
• Minot, 2030: 60,000 and continues to rise slowly, employment
• Dickinson, 2030: 35,000 and slight rise thereafter

From that data, the study then anticipates housing needs.