Industrial Commission Awards Millions For EOR Projects In Williston Basin

The North Dakota Industrial Commission has approved more than $45 million in new funding to advance Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects, many of which will focus on extending production in the Williston Basin—one of the nation’s most important oil-producing regions.

The Commission, made up of Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Attorney General Drew Wrigley, and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, authorized $45.1 million in matching grants during the 62nd round of the state’s Oil and Gas Research Program. The program, first established in 2007, supports projects that enhance oil and natural gas production and innovation in North Dakota. Funded entirely by oil and gas production and extraction taxes, each grant recipient must provide at least a 50% funding match.

The 69th Legislative Assembly recently allocated an additional $25 million specifically for EOR-related projects, designed to help companies manage the high upfront costs associated with testing and deploying tertiary recovery methods. EOR technology involves injecting fluids or gases into oil-bearing rock formations to extract crude oil that can’t be reached through conventional drilling or secondary recovery techniques.

““EOR projects have the potential to change the trajectory of the state’s oil and gas production,” the commission said in a joint statement. “If successful, these projects can increase and extend, perhaps by decades, oil and gas production in the Williston Basin.”

Nathan Anderson, Director of the Department of Mineral Resources, added that the approved projects will help North Dakota “move up the learning curve with EOR,” noting that large-scale pilot projects are critical to improving efficiency and long-term recovery rates.

The approved Oil and Gas Research Program projects include:

• $13,998,200 to Chord Energy for “Large-Scale Hydrocarbon Gas Injection EOR Pilot.”
• $9,836,905 to Continental Resources for “A Multi-Well, Multi-Zone EOR Project Utilizing Produced Gas in Williams County.”
• $8,771,905 to Continental Resources for “Large-Scale Miscible Gas Huff n Puff EOR Pilot in Dunn County.”
• $5,000,000 to Cobra Oil & Gas Corp. for “EOR and Advanced Completion Design for Tight Carbonate Reservoirs in Western North Dakota.”
• $1,535,000 to Devon Energy for “Surfactant-Based EOR Pilot Testing Program, Bakken–Three Forks Formations.”
• $6,000,000 to EERC for “Bakken Production Optimization Program (BPOP) 5.0.”
  

Together, these projects represent one of the largest coordinated efforts to expand EOR capacity in North Dakota’s history. Officials said the initiatives could help sustain the state’s energy industry and workforce while unlocking additional production potential in mature oil fields.

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The next application deadline for the Oil and Gas Research Program will be announced at a later date. More details about the program and funding opportunities are available at www.ndic.nd.gov.