Study: Oil industry economic impact pegged at $30B

The study, sponsored by the North Dakota Petroleum Council, estimates each barrel of oil produced in North Dakota generates about $150 in economic activity.

The oil industry accounted for nearly 41,000 full-time jobs in 2011, about 9 percent of the state's workforce, the study said. The oil industry accounted for only about 5,000 jobs in 2005, when North Dakota's oil boom was in its infancy.

North Dakota currently trails only Texas in oil output. The state has risen from the ninth biggest oil state just six years ago with improved horizontal drilling techniques in the rich Bakken shale and Three Forks formations in the western part of the state.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple said the study validates the contribution to North Dakota's economy. But the economic benefit has come with increased crime, shortages of housing, greater costs for road repairs and other infrastructure improvements in oil-producing counties in western North Dakota, he said.

"Oil and gas has had a very significant impact on our state's economy," Dalrymple told The Associated Press. "No question, there are some challenges."

Dalrymple's $12.8 billion budget proposes that $532 million in oil tax revenues be given to oil-producing counties over the next two years for infrastructure improvements and other projects impacted by oil development. The Republican governor's plan also includes 171 new state employees, including more law enforcement, court, health and regulatory workers to monitor the growing energy industry. It includes about $1 billion for road work in western North Dakota.

Dalrymple spokesman Jeff Zent said the governor's budget also allocates $214 million in so-called energy-impact grants to communities affected by oil development.