ENERGY DEPARTMENT TO INVEST $36 MILLION IN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
By leveraging captured carbon dioxide, the project is set to unlock billions of additional barrels of oil from the Bakken shale formation
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) today announced the selection of a new project with $36 million in federal funding for the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center to advance the commercial deployment of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies in the Bakken shale formation. Through an integration of laboratory, modeling, artificial intelligence (AI), and field-based activities, the Bakken Enhanced Oil Recovery–Cracking the Code (Bakken EOR-CC) program will generate critical data and insights to enable efficient, large-scale implementation of carbon dioxide-based EOR. These efforts support President Trump’s commitment to American energy dominance by advancing technologies that increase domestic energy production and deliver affordable, reliable, and secure energy for the American people.
“North Dakota has proven itself to be a leader in energy innovation, and the Bakken Enhanced Oil Recovery initiative builds on that legacy,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office Kyle Haustveit. “This program is essential to maximize the full potential of our valuable hydrocarbon resources in the Bakken. By ‘cracking the code,’ these integrated pilot projects will help establish a clear path for the broad commercial deployment of enhanced energy recovery across the nation. The Bakken formation holds the potential to unlock billions of barrels of oil—resources that can power energy independence for generations to come.”
The Bakken, a key unconventional tight oil play in North Dakota, holds substantial potential for increased oil recovery. Currently, only about 10% of the oil in unconventional shale formations is typically recovered. The Bakken EOR-CC program is designed to evaluate EOR strategies, potentially unlocking billions of additional barrels of incremental oil and extending the life of the state's coal-fired power plants by utilizing their captured carbon dioxide for EOR.
The program is uniquely positioned to capitalize on knowledge generated through six EOR pilot projects, five of which are state- and private-funded. Each pilot project will evaluate different injection strategies, reservoir conditions, and operational approaches to help establish a comprehensive technical foundation for future commercial-scale deployment. Advanced AI and machine-learning tools will be used to identify operational insights, best practices, and critical success factors across all six pilots to support broader deployment of enhanced oil recovery technologies across the Bakken shale formation. This integrated approach ensures that individual pilot lessons are translated into actionable strategies for optimizing commercial-scale EOR deployment. The Bakken EOR-CC program will establish a comprehensive technical foundation that transcends the scope of any single project.
Bakken EOR-CC will include DOE’s investment of $36 million along with $9 million in cost-share from the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center and project partners for one of the six pilot projects. State and private sources are providing approximately $100 million in funding for the remaining five pilot projects.
Learn about how HGEO is unleashing the full potential of America’s hydrocarbon and geothermal resources to provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy here.
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