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Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Oil and Gas Division, said a new study pegs the recoverable oil in the Three Forks formation, under the famed Bakken Formation, at up to 2 billion barrels of oil within North Dakota alone.

In 2008, Helms released a new study of the Bakken Formation, also creating a buzz that dominated the event. It pegged the Bakken as having 3.6 billion barrels of oil recoverable at current technology, across the entire basin. North Dakota’s share of the Bakken’s recoverable oil is put at 2.1 billion barrels. So, Thursday’s report basically doubles the amount of oil considered recoverable in North Dakota, Helms said. Last year, 80 million barrels of oil were pumped out of North Dakota’s ground, a record well above the previous mark of 62.8 million in 2008.

A federal energy official said that despite the new report released by the Industrial Commission, the new estimates aren’t considered part of the nation’s 19 billion barrels of “proven oil reserves” yet. Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said there wasn’t anything new in the report that hasn’t been known by people in the industry for some time

Billionaire oilman Harold Hamm believes the state and federal estimates of recoverable oil in the Bakken and Three Forks are conservative. “I made a statement two years ago I thought the play (Bakken and Three Forks) has 8 billion barrels of oil,” said Hamm, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc., an independent oil and gas company based in Enid, Okla.

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Brian Wang

Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.

Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.

A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.