Oklahoma energy firms such as Empire Petroleum, Continental Resources and Devon Energy could eventually benefit from the intent of a $36 million Energy Department grant for oil and gas research in North Dakota.
Sen. John Hoeven announced on Friday the Energy Department had officially awarded the $36 million to a project called Crack the Code 2.0 initiative championed by the former governor, reported the North Dakota Monitor. The $157 million project’s goal is to develop cost-effective technologies that can be used in enhanced oil recovery and extend the life of oil fields such as the Bakken. It’s where the Oklahoma oil and gas companies are active, including Continental Resources where founder Harold Hamm made his riches as one of the early explorers.
Hoeven announced the federal funding at a press conference with North Dakota Petroleum Council President Ron Ness to outline the federal, state and industry effort to Crack the Code 2.0 and partner North Dakota’s oil and coal industries with the goals of:
- Doubling oil recovery in the Bakken.
- Doubling the life of North Dakota’s coal-fired power plants.
Hoeven has been working with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his team at DOE to finalize the federal award. To this end, Hoeven met in Grand Forks with both Secretary Wright and DOE Assistant Secretary Kyle Haustveit, the University of North Dakota (UND) Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and energy producers to advance this initiative.
The phase one funding, which also includes $76 million in private investment and $45.1 million in state funding, will be used to develop large-scale pilot projects to advance the technical and commercial viability of EOR in the Bakken.
Crack the Code 2.0 is further supported by a policy Hoeven worked to secure in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3), also known as the Working Families Tax Cut Act, to properly align the 45Q tax credit to incentivize the use of CO2 for EOR. Doing so supports coal producers’ continued operations by providing access to a new revenue stream through selling CO2 to oil producers, while providing a strong, long-term incentive for EOR, making it the clear, commercially-viable choice to improve oil recovery in the Bakken.
“By securing this $36 million in federal funding for Crack the Code 2.0, we are taking a major step forward in efforts to partner North Dakota’s oil and coal producers and provide a more solid foundation for the future of both of these essential industries,” said Hoeven. “EOR has the potential to double both the oil recovery rate in formations like the Bakken and the life of our coal-fired power plants. Doing so benefits not only North Dakota, but is essential to the economic security of all Americans, who will continue to have access to reliable and affordable energy produced right here in the U.S.”