Oil and natural gas production are expected to reach increasingly high levels as production on private lands continues to grow and as shale formations continue to increase their output of oil and gas using hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling technology. Several states have been at the forefront of the shale production movement, but the best recognized is North Dakota, whose unemployment rate is less than half that of the nation, whose economy is growing at over 13 percent per year, and whose state revenues are overflowing. Several other states are now interested in following in North Dakota’s footsteps to get themselves financially healthy. These states include but are not limited to California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio.
