An oil tax increase this summer is unlikely to slow drilling in western North Dakota’s promising Bakken oil shale, which is leading the state toward an oil production record, industry officials say.
Prices that have soared above $120 a barrel will make the tax increase easier to tolerate, said Jeff Herman, of [...]

PATTERSON-UTI ENERGY, INC. reported that for the month of February 2007 the Company had an average of 257 drilling rigs operating, including 243 rigs in the U.S. and 14 rigs in Canada. For the two months ended February 2007 the Company had an average of 262 drilling rigs operating, including 247 rigs in the U.S. [...]

Money from federal oil and gas lease sales is repairing McKenzie County roads and helping maintain its seven school districts, which have a total of about 760 students.
“We don’t expect to see this kind of money again, not in the near future, anyway,” county auditor Frances Olson says.
The year is ending on a high note [...]