What Does Opportunity Look Like?

Thanks to that large source rock formation, and the technology that makes it accessible, North Dakota has now vaulted to the number two position among oil producers in the United States, following only Texas. August estimates show the state pacing to generate $4 billion from oil taxes during the current two-year budget cycle, nearly twice the amount forecast just a few months ago. That money, much of it banked in special reserve funds, is clearly going to mean great things for North Dakota schools, infrastructure and property tax relief.

On our side of the energy corridor, we know from economists at Montana’s universities that in the space of one year, wages and salaries grew 16.2 percent in Richland County and 11.9 percent in Fallon County. We know Montana’s oil and gas industry overall contributed $440 million in taxes to state and local governments in 2011. We know growth is happening on our side of the Bakken, and that 2012 is shaping up to be a record year statewide for oil permits.

But with that big picture, it sometimes seems like we hear more about the challenges that come with the velocity of growth from the oil and natural gas boom - housing shortages, truck traffic, crime - than about the opportunities. Sometimes, more is said about the pressures on local infrastructure than about the entrepreneurial Montanans who are achieving success in meeting the challenges of that growth.

Many of us have been through enough booms and busts to know that growth of any kind requires more responsibility. We also know that we are living in a global market and the price of oil, and demand for it, changes. Nevertheless, the Bakken is beckoning many Montanans. They see it as a place where they can make their own breaks, despite a tough economy.

Some examples:

Cam Holt spent many years working at restaurants and selling real estate in Bozeman. Prodded by a friend, he went to Williston, N.D. to scout it out. He found a run-down gas station on Williston’s main street which he transformed into 3 Amigos Southwest Grill. He has staffed it with folks he knew from the Gallatin Valley and is now serving up to 500 meals a day, not including a huge to-go business delivering direct to the oil fields surrounding the town. Next up, he’s planning an ice cream parlor.

John Olson, a University of Montana graduate, is the owner of Blue Rock Products and distributes soft drinks, beer and wine in eastern Montana and western North Dakota. “Our sales have gone through the roof,” he said. “I guess we’re the number one Pepsi plant in the country right now.”

Rick Leuthold, director of business development for Sanderson Stewart, an engineering firm in Billings, said the company is working on more than a dozen subdivisions, industrial parks and retail and commercial developments in Williston. It encompasses an area of more than 1,800 acres.

And Andrew Braxton of Braxton Development, based in Bozeman, says his company is working on completing its second hotel in the Williston market this year. Plus, the company is also working on a 500-unit residential community with club house and fitness center in Williston.

Those are just a few. The Billings Gazette reported some 50 businesses there are busy answering the calls from 350 oil companies hungry for workers, trucks, pipe and more.

Rapid growth rarely happens without hurdles, but Montanans tend to step up to a challenge. For those with imagination and commitment, the Bakken is a rich opportunity for building new business and responsibly developing sustainable communities. Done right, the oil becomes simply the catalyst that helps make it all possible.