The Boom at an intersection
The Boom at an intersection
Dave Roberts, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Marathon Oil Corp.
The record level of participation at this week’s Williston Basin Petroleum Conference is a tribute to North Dakota’s vibrant economy and a testament to the state’s importance to our national energy supply.
Amid all the activity and attention, North Dakota finds itself at a critical intersection.
Coming from one direction, we have these revolutionary supply developments of recent years due largely to the application of advanced technologies and continued innovation. From the other direction, we have the significant social, environmental and geopolitical challenges that have accompanied this growth.
The oil and gas industry must continue to work in a spirit of cooperation with all stakeholders – local communities, other operators, regulators and elected and tribal officials, to name a handful – if we’re going to further advance this industry and realize the full potential -- and full benefits -- of these vast resources. We’ve made significant progress, but there’s still work to be done.
At a time when our national priorities should include putting people back to work, generating revenue for state and federal treasuries and securing large capital investments, we have a model in North Dakota.
At Marathon Oil, we’re proud to be a part of the Bakken Shale equation. We’ve invested more than $2.5 billion since entering the play in 2006, and it’s become a significant part of what we call our Company’s “growth assets.”
As an industry, however, our progress is tied directly to our ability to assure local communities we can deliver energy and economic security simultaneously, and that we’ll be able to do so in a safe and environmentally responsible manner while balancing impacts on infrastructure.
