Drilling Up In North Dakota After Agreement

A tax agreement that standardized the rules for oil drilling on an American Indian reservation in North Dakota has spurred more exploration and brought in more than $18 million in revenue, state and tribal officials say.

Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Marcus Levings and Gov. John Hoeven last week extended indefinitely the tax and regulatory agreement on the Fort Berthold reservation, in west-central North Dakota, which has been in place since 2008.

Since the agreement was signed, the number of horizontal wells on the reservation has jumped from one to about 160, Levings said.

“I think it speaks for itself,” Levings said.

Through December, the state has received $13.3 million and the tribe has gotten $4.9 million in tax revenue due to the agreement, said Ryan Rauschenberger, North Dakota’s deputy tax commissioner.

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