“Over the course of the last few months, Friedman has seen a slight uptick in occupancy at many of the multi-family properties that we manage in the Bakken Shale,” says Andrew Ledger, Managing Director, Business Development at Friedman. “This can be attributed to shorter lease terms being offered, lower asking rental rates and bigger concessions to attract new residents. Professional property management has become paramount in the area as residents still have many options when considering a place to live.”
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STATES ADDITION
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NORTH HIGHLANDS
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ROOSEVELT EAST
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235 UNITS
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239 UNITS
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131 UNITS
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Dickinson, ND
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Minot, ND
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Williston, ND
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Multi-Family
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Multi-Family
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Multi-Family
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The Bakken shale 101
The Bakken shale is one of several oil-bearing rock formations within the greater Williston Basin, which spans about 200,000 square miles covering parts of North Dakota, Montana, and Canada:
While geoscientists long speculated about how much oil resided in the region, it was not until the oil boom kicked into high gear that investors started taking these resource estimates seriously. That was especially true after the U.S. Geological Survey released its updated assessment in 2008, estimating that between 3 billion and 4.3 billion barrels of oil were recoverable using technology that was available at that time. That said, as producers continued to drill and refine their techniques, it led the USGS to ratchet up its ultimate recovery to 7.4 billion barrels of oil in 2014. Meanwhile, others estimate that as much as 24 billion barrels of oil could eventually be recovered, which for perspective would completely satisfy American oil consumption for more than three years at the current consumption rate.
The leading Bakken Shale players
While oil has been trickling out of the Bakken since the early 1950s, it did not become a large-scale producer until 2007. However, production ramped up dramatically since then, rising from less than 100,000 barrels per day in 2007 to more than 1 million barrels per day by 2014. That remarkable growth was largely fueled by the play’s five most dominant players:
| Bakken Producer | Average Daily Production (BOE/D) | Bakken Position |
|---|---|---|
| Continental Resources | 139,602 | 1,030,000 net acres |
| Whiting Petroleum | 124,900 | 445,921 net acres |
| Hess | 105,000 | 578,000 net acres |
| ExxonMobil | 77,000 | 515,014 net acres |
| EOG Resources | (Not broken out) | 231,000 net acres |
DATA SOURCE: COMPANY INVESTOR PRESENTATIONS.
Investor takeaway
The Bakken shale contains an enormous amount of recoverable oil. At the moment, however, producers are letting most of the oil stay in the ground because prices are just too low. When prices improve in the future, though, this play could once again boom with activity, likely led by these five dominant producers.
