The oil and natural gas industry in North Dakota accounted for $42.6 billion in gross business volume, nearly 50,000 jobs and over $3.8 billion in state and local tax revenues in 2021, according to a study conducted by North Dakota State University Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics and Center for Social Research.

Researchers Dean Bangsund and Nancy Hodur studied the economic contribution of oil and gas exploration, extraction, transportation, processing and capital investments in 2021, the most recent data available. Similar studies have been conducted every two years since 2005.

Their findings show North Dakota’s oil and gas industry directly employed 14,200 people in 2019, while economic activity from the indirect and induced effects of the industry supported an additional 23,285 and 11,900 jobs, respectively, for a total of 49,385 jobs attributed to the industry. Employment compensation, which includes wages, salaries and employee benefits, was estimated at $3.9 billion.

Total gross business volume, which includes direct sales in the oil and gas industry and business generated from indirect and induced economic activity throughout North Dakota, was estimated at $42.6 billion, which was more than 30 percent of the state’s overall business volume.

The study has shown that the oil and natural gas industry has continued to have a substantial impact on North Dakota’s Economy