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The Obama administration once again has punted on a final decision for the Keystone XL pipeline, announcing ahead of the holiday weekend that it is extending a key review period indefinitely -- a move that could push off a determination until after the midterm elections. Republicans, as well as red-state Democrats who want the pipeline approved, slammed the administration for the delay. "It's absolutely ridiculous that this well over five year long process is continuing for an undetermined amount of time," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.H., said in a statement.

You really have to admire the chutzpah. In her 2012 campaign, Senator Heidi Heitkamp worked long and hard to brand herself not as a liberal Democrat, but as an “independent” who would “stand up” to President Barack Obama. Such rhetoric was necessary in a state where Obama lost by more than 20 points, and Heitkamp herself won by just a few thousand votes. It’s hard to imagine Heitkamp being in the US Senate now had she not campaigned so hard against Obama. But she did, and she won, and then spent her first year in the US Senate voting with...

Net oil imports to the United States could plummet to zero by 2037 because of booming production in South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale and North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, a branch of the Energy Department projected in a new report.

BISMARCK, N.D. -- A federal judge on Wednesday overturned a North Dakota law that bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy and before many women know they're pregnant. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said the law is "invalid and unconstitutional" and that it "cannot withstand a constitutional challenge." The state attorney general said he was looking at whether to appeal the decision by the Bismarck-based judge. North Dakota is among several conservative states that have passed new abortion restrictions in recent years, but abortion rights supporters called North...

WILLISTON, N.D. — The blood-drenched man had survived a brutal attack: Beaten with brass knuckles, shocked with a stun gun, slashed with a razor blade, then dumped 40 miles away in Montana, he staggered to a farmhouse for help. His path eventually led authorities back to a quiet backyard in this oil boom town. What they uncovered was a large-scale methamphetamine ring that had found a home in a state long known for its small-town solitude, its slow pace and peaceful pastures. The members of this violent gang were all relative newcomers to Williston. They called themselves "The Family," the...

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The minimum-wage boost that Minnesota legislators are expected to pass this week has restaurant and bar owners here wondering how the bill would affect their bottom lines in a border city already faced with tough competition from business-friendly North Dakota. At J.C. Chumley's in Moorhead, co-owner Josh Henstorf worries he would have to reduce employees' hours and raise prices, which may send customers to Fargo in search of a cheaper alternative. "I think it's going to do a lot more harm than good to the business, to the employees, to the end-users," Henstorf said of the wage...

In January, 40% of natural gas production in North Dakota went to waste. You read that right. 400 million cubic feet of natural gas was lit on fire and burnt. But that's peanuts compared to how much total natural gas goes to waste every year in the U.S. And it's why I see natural gas prices being low this year... Longtime Growth Stock Wire readers know about the U.S.'s booming oil production in shales like North Dakota's Bakken and Texas' Eagle Ford and Permian Basin. Natural gas is a byproduct of oil production... And the shale plays are producing more...

The people of North Dakota put more trust and confidence in their state government than people in any other state, while the people of Illinois put the least. In polling done in June through September 2013, Gallup asked at least 600 people in each state this question: “How much trust and confidence do you have in the government of the state where you live when it comes to handling state problems—a great deal, a fair amount, not very much or none at all?” …

Rail shipments of North Dakota crude to increase with decision to block Keystone XL pipeline ### North Dakota oil drillers increasingly will rely on trains to move barrels of crude to market after the Obama administration's decision to reject plans for a pipeline that would run from Canada to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, state and industry officials say. "Pipelines are by far the safest and most economically efficient way to transport oil, but we are left with a limited number of options if pipelines are off the table," said Tony Clark, chairman of the North Dakota Public Service...

Texas is producing about 36 percent of the country’s crude oil — three times more than any other state, according to the latest monthly figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas pumped nearly 2.9 million barrels of crude daily of the 7.9 million barrels produced nationwide in January, the latest month for which figures are available. The Gulf of Mexico produced about 17 percent, the second-largest portion, followed by North Dakota with about 12 percent of the U.S. crude. California and Alaska rounded out the top five crude-producing areas, each home to about 7 percent of the nation’s oil....

Five states and the Gulf of Mexico supplied more than 80%, or 6 million barrels per day, of the crude oil (including lease condensate) produced in the United States in 2013. Texas alone provided almost 35%, according to preliminary 2013 data released in EIA's March Petroleum Supply Monthly. The second-largest state producer was North Dakota with 12% of U.S. crude oil production, followed by California and Alaska at close to 7% each and Oklahoma at 4%. The federal offshore Gulf of Mexico produced 17%. Total U.S. crude oil production grew 15% in 2013 to 7.4 million barrels per day. Texas...

Will Obama use two small birds to limit oil drilling in the West? Almost half the land west of the Mississippi belongs to the federal government, including 48% of California, 62% of Idaho and 81% of Nevada. No surprise that the Obama Administration wants to control more. But the result could be to suppress the country's booming oil and gas development. In partnership with green activists, the Department of Interior may attempt one of the largest federal land grabs in modern times, using a familiar vehicle—the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A record 757 new species could be added to the...

It should come as no surprise The New York Times would bury news of a conservative victory over President Obama on page eight. The lead paragraph said it all: Senate Democrats, bowing to united House Republican opposition, dropped reforms of International Monetary Fund governance from a Ukraine aid package on Tuesday. The real question is whether this was merely a moment in time or a seminal shift in how congressional Republicans will approach future showdowns. And to be clear, future showdowns are inevitable if we are to achieve any conservative policy victories. Before going further, it is important to explain...

Looking for a job? North Dakota wants you. In a new recruiting campaign to be rolled out in May, the North Dakota Economic Development Foundation is aiming to fill more than 20,000 jobs -- ranging from truck drivers and oilfield workers to receptionists and food servers. North Dakota's huge oil boom has spurred thousands of job seekers to flock to the state for years now. In some cities, the population has quadrupled. Yet, the growth continues and companies are still so desperate for workers that the state is teaming up with oil giant Hess Corp. to launch an $800,000 campaign...

North Dakota and its only abortion clinic have resolved part of their dispute over the state’s new abortion law, meaning the facility will remain open. At issue was the requirement that physicians performing abortions have hospital privileges. The state and clinic agreed that doctors at the Red River Women's Clinic would maintain such privileges. The agreement was announced Friday by the state and the Center for Reproductive Rights, which assisted the clinic, located in Fargo. The stipulation ends a lawsuit over the requirement, which was included in the 2013 law and threatened to close the women’s health facility. The hospital...

FARGO – A second woman has come forward to tell authorities she was a kidnapping and rape victim of the accused “vampire trucker” authorities arrested in November at Moorhead truck stop. Timothy Jay Vafeades, 54, appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court here on kidnapping, child pornography and transportation for illegal sex charges filed in Utah. Kidnapping charges filed against him in Clay County District Court were dropped after the filing of federal charges. According to the case filed against him in federal court, a second woman came forward after seeing news reports of Vafeades’ arrest in Minnesota. She contacted the...

The productivity of oil and natural gas wells is steadily increasing in many basins across the United States because of the increasing precision and efficiency of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in oil and natural gas extraction. Many resource-producing basins are experiencing an increasing yield over time in either oil (Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara) or natural gas (Marcellus, Haynesville). The geology of each oil and natural gas resource play is diverse, and individual rig or well performance can vary dramatically. However, drilling activity in U.S. shale plays is now generally producing greater quantities of oil and/or natural gas than in...

As the search for natural resources takes the industry to remote locations and developing areas – while creating thousands of new jobs and rapid economic growth – the demand for quality workforce housing intensifies. What was meant to be a temporary accommodation, has now become a permanent home for oilfield workers as the North American energy boom revitalizes cities throughout the region. The energy renaissance in North America has seen its working population swell by as much as 70 percent in certain regions, mainly driven by oilfield workers and those in fringe industries such as construction and transportation. “Many companies...

...a 600-foot oceangoing oil tanker called the Stena Primorsk left the Port of Albany on its maiden voyage down the Hudson River laden with 279,000 barrels of crude oil. It quickly ran aground on a sandbar. ...The ship’s outer hull was breached, but a second hull prevented a spill. Still, the interrupted voyage just 12 miles south of the port signaled a remarkable turnaround for the state’s capital. With little fanfare, this sleepy port has been quietly transformed into a major hub for oil shipments by trains from North Dakota and a key supplier to refiners on the East Coast....

Since 2010, the phrase "rising service intensity" of unconventional drilling and completions has become a household term. What this refers to is the fact that more stages per well and longer horizontal laterals demand more of oil service contractors than ever before. More proppant, more frac fluid, more horsepower, more water, more infrastructure, more transportation, etc. Several other associated trends include more wells drilled per rig and rising service company revenues per rig. A phrase you don't hear as often is "rising labor intensity" of unconventional drilling and completions. But we would argue that this is just as important. Just...