KEMPTHORNE AGREES TO DELEGATION REQUEST TO OPEN FORT BERTHOLD ONE-STOP SHOP BEFORE HE LEAVES

Monday, December 8, 2008

CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy spoke Monday with U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to urge him to open an “oil and gas one-stop shop” on the Fort Berthold Reservation to expedite leasing and issuing of permits for oil and gas development on the reservation. Kempthorne agreed to their request to work to open the office before he leaves his post in January.

The proposal, first made by Senator Dorgan earlier this year, calls for the Department of Interior to establish an office at Fort Berthold that would house officials from the four Interior Department agencies involved in approving oil and gas development permits and leases on Indian lands.

The Fort Berthold Reservation sits on top of the Bakken Shale Oil Formation, the nation’s most promising oil and gas field. It has estimated reserves of nearly four billion barrels of oil, yet only seven wells are currently producing on the reservation. Cutting through a complicated Department of Interior bureaucracy appears to be the biggest road block to getting necessary permits and leases issued, the delegation said.

Kempthorne agreed to get the office up and running by the time he leaves his post, barring any unforeseen complications. He agreed to report to the delegation on his progress by January 1.

“The Fort Berthold Reservation has a significant amount of oil and gas resources, but the bureaucracy has slowed things down and prevented the Three Affiliated Tribes from taking full advantage of this economic opportunity,” Senator Dorgan said. “This one-stop shop would help us cut through the red tape. That’s important I appreciate Secretary Kempthorne’s willingness to get this done quickly so we don’t lose momentum during the transition to the new Administration.”

“I have always believed that an increase in domestic oil and gas production has to be part of an all-of-the-above strategy to move our nation toward energy independence,” Senator Conrad said. “Secretary Kempthorne’s commitment to creating a one-stop-shop is in the best interest of the Three Affiliated Tribes, the state of North Dakota and our nation. I applaud his commitment to streamlining the bureaucracy and will work with him and the new Administration to ensure this process reaches a successful conclusion.”

“The amount of recoverable oil in the Bakken presents tremendous opportunities for North Dakota’s energy sector, and the Fort Berthold Reservation is sitting right in the middle of the action,” Congressman Pomeroy said. “Bureaucratic delays shouldn’t be holding up our domestic oil production. I’m pleased Secretary Kempthorne has agreed to work with us to cut through the red tape and get more wells in the ground on the Fort Berthold Reservation.”

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