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<pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<title>Optimism abounds at Great Plains Energy Expo</title>
<link>http://10.0.0.91/events/news/detail.asp?newsID=12</link>
<description><![CDATA[By: Ryan Schuster, Prairie Business Magazine 

Harold Hamm says the pronouncements of the demise of the U.S. petroleum industry are premature.

Hamm, the chairman and CEO of Continental Resources Inc., an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company, says U.S. oil reserves will last longer than many have projected. Hamm forecasted a strong future for the U.S. petroleum industry in the coming decades last month during an appearance at the Great Plains Energy Expo &amp; Showcase at the Bismarck Civic Center.

&#8220;We&#8217;re not running out of oil and gas,&#8221; Hamm said during his speech at the conference. &#8220;We are having some of our biggest finds here in North Dakota. We&#8217;re able to get more oil out of the ground and reservoir today than ever before.&#8221;

The U.S. Geological Survey released a revised assessment in 2008 that estimated the Bakken formation holds between 3 billion and 4.3 billion barrels of oil that can be recovered in western North Dakota and eastern Montana using current technology &#8212; a 25-fold increase from its 1995 assessment of the Bakken. It is the U.S. Geological Survey&#8217;s highest current assessment of any oil field in the lower 48 states and the find is the largest continuous oil accumulation ever assessed by the agency, though the dense shale formation makes extracting oil from the formation more difficult and costly than more conventional plays.

&#8220;It is a big deal,&#8221; Hamm said of the Bakken, which he says could hold as much as twice the U.S. Geological Survey&#8217;s most recent figure. &#8220;It&#8217;s an unconventional resource play, but it&#8217;s oil and it&#8217;s very valuable at this point in time.&#8221;

Hamm cited improvements in technology, enhanced oil recovery techniques, horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing and continual exploration efforts as reasons to be bullish on the oil industry&#8217;s future even as known world and U.S. oil reserves continue to be slowly depleted.

North Dakota recently passed Louisiana to become the nation&#8217;s fourth-highest oil producing state and the state is becoming more of a player in wind energy and other alternative energy sources.

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota mentioned the recent oil boom in western North Dakota that has help buoy the state&#8217;s economy during the two-day event in Bismarck that also featured workshops and more than 50 energy-related exhibitors.

&#8220;North Dakota is becoming an energy powerhouse in its potential to be a worldwide leader for energy production,&#8221; Dorgan said. &#8220;We need to vigorously work to make these important investments to bring our energy to more areas in this country. We must also invest in ways to develop next generation energy technologies and use our energy resources more efficiently with less carbon emissions.&#8221;

Dorgan said at the energy expo that tax incentives for alternative energy need to be extended for longer periods of time and not be allowed to expire, to allow for more long-term investment. He also said that a modern national electricity grid needs to be constructed to allow the state&#8217;s vast wind resources to be transferred to areas where it is needed.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said during the conference that the nation needs to form a new energy policy that will continue the country&#8217;s push into alternative energy, reduce the nation&#8217;s dependence on foreign oil, create millions of jobs and reduce pollution. But Salazar said that traditional energy sources like fossil fuels and coal will still play key roles in the future.

&#8220;We are at the beginning of a new energy frontier,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We will capture the power of the wind and the sun and power our economy. A comprehensive energy plan needs to look at the new frontier and renewable energy, but it also has to look at oil and natural gas and how we move forward with coal. The fact remains that oil, natural gas and coal are a very important part of our energy portfolio and they will continue to be important parts of our energy future.&#8221;

But Salazar said global climate change and the need to reduce pollution will also be addressed. He said carbon capture and sequestration holds potential for helping to improve coal&#8217;s environmental footprint and said the Department of the Interior has plans for large-scale carbon capture demonstration projects on public lands.

&#8220;We have to figure out ways of capturing carbon while it is going through the coal burning process,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We also need to look at enhanced oil recovery and injecting it into oil fields.&#8221;
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<pubDate>Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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<title>Dorgan Kicks Off Energy Expo</title>
<link>http://10.0.0.91/events/news/detail.asp?newsID=11</link>
<description><![CDATA[CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551


(BISMARCK, N.D.) &#8211; During his opening remarks at the 2009 Great Plains Energy Expo and Showcase, U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said North Dakota has become an &#8220;energy powerhouse&#8221; that has the capability of leading the nation toward energy independence.

&#8220;North Dakota has a greater variety and more sources of energy than any other state, and it&#8217;s changing our economy right before our eyes,&#8221; he said. 

As a senior member of the Senate&#8217;s Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Dorgan plays a key role in federal energy investments and policies around the nation. 

His speech highlighted investments that our country needs to make to unlock the full potential of North Dakota coal by investing in carbon capture, transport and storage. He also said electric transmission capacity needs to be dramatically expanded to bring more North Dakota energy to the nation and more pipeline capacity is needed to get our oil to market. Dorgan believes that without these investments, the state will have stranded energy for years to come. 

&#8220;North Dakota is becoming an energy powerhouse in its potential to be a worldwide leader for energy production,&#8221; Dorgan said. &#8220;We need to vigorously work to make these important investments to bring our energy to more areas in this country. We must also invest in ways to develop next generation energy technologies and use our energy resources more efficiently with less carbon emissions. A discussion about these issues is one of my goals at this year&#8217;s Expo with the many energy leaders from around the nation in attendance.&#8221; 

This year&#8217;s featured presenters include U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, legendary oilman Harold Hamm and top U.S. Department of Energy official Matt Rogers.

&#8220;The group of renowned presenters at this year&#8217;s Expo clearly demonstrates the interest in North Dakota energy, and these leaders will help us move the state forward as we continue to grow our energy sector,&#8221; Dorgan said. &#8220;Increasing energy development and production in our state is key to this nation&#8217;s effort to break its dependence on foreign energy.&#8221; 

Today&#8217;s event also featured over 50 energy-related exhibitors and 12 valuable workshops. 

The 2009 Great Plains Energy Expo and Showcase is being held today and tomorrow at the Bismarck Civic Center. It&#8217;s the largest annual event in the state that brings together leaders from across the energy sector. The expo is a collaborative effort between Dorgan, Bismarck State College, the Great Plains Energy Corridor office, and Bismarck engineering firm Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson. 

The annual event is part of Dorgan&#8217;s &#8220;Great Plains Energy Corridor&#8221; initiative, aimed at bolstering energy production in the Upper Great Plains to help reduce America&#8217;s dependence on foreign energy.


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<pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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