Optimism Still Alive In The Bakken -- Dickinson Press -- May 3, 2016; Home Depot In Williston To Close

The Dickinson Press is reporting: Despite thousands of empty bedrooms, optimism still alive in ND Oil Patch.

"I do say we are busier than you would think we would be," said Tom Rolfstad, Williston's former economic development director.

Still, as drilling rigs went from more than 200 during the boom to below 30, development has dried up. A Home Depot store that opened just three years ago will close next week.

Shane Roers came from the family business in Fargo to Dickinson, where Roers West has made a mark developing new projects for businesses, apartments and homes.

Now, they're trying to weather the slowdown.

"I think that there's definitely not a fear factor like there was in the past, but I can tell you there's people not pulling the trigger on stuff," Roers said. "As oil gets up to 40 bucks, maybe that will start easing. If we can get up to 50 bucks -- it's going to take some time. If it jumped up to 60 bucks tomorrow, it's not going to happen right away. It's going to have to level off and get some stability until people feel comfortable with it."

In Williston, hotels have the biggest challenges. Twenty-two were built during the boom, and even that wasn't enough back then. Now they have 1,800 open rooms and are running at just 20 to 25 percent capacity, Rolfstad said.

"They're actually more on the bleeding edge than anybody," he said.

That's one reason some in Williston want to shut down the remaining crew camps for oil workers, allowing hotels to benefit from workers still here.

With about 3,200 vacant apartments in Williston, Rolfstad figures about 6,400 bedrooms are vacant. And rents are down by "half at least," he said.