[lesser_satan]

It was not until 2007, when EOG Resources of Texas started a frenzy when they drilled a single well in Parshal N.D. that is expected to yield 700,000 barrels of oil that real excitement and money started to flow in North Dakota. Marathon Oil is investing $1.5 billion and drilling 300 new wells in what is expected to be one of the greatest booms in Oil discovery since Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938.

They're already starting to drill. The question is how much of the oil there is recoverable. Estimates vary widely between 1 and 50%, but remember that new technology is constantly being developed, including techniques to artificially fracture the rock. This is where the various "peak oil" theories have failed. They didn't account for the recoverable amount of oil increasing as new technology is developed.

[tobyhill]

With public announcements like this it won't be long before the 9th Circuit forces them to stop.