The Crude Life founder Jason Spiess interviews former North Dakota governor and then-current Continental Resources board member Ed Schafer about how important technology is in the Bakken oil boom. Interview from November 2013.
His answer prompted us to ask other industry experts whether the Bakken was a tech boom. Schafer said the current technology is only getting about 5% of the oil out of the ground, and as the technology improves, more oil can be extracted from the ground.
The interview is still relevant in today’s oil and gas industry, especially considering the new push to carbon capture and sequestration.
Edward Schafer was the first and only North Dakotan to ever serve as United States Secretary of Agriculture. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“Pad Drilling is great, Continental Resources calls them Eco-pads. Its the ecology of extraction.” Schafer said. “The opportunity to shift from a discovery phase to a operational phase, the mineral rights have been secure, the borders have been outlined, now you go in a say what can we do better and more efficient. Eco-pads do that.”
Ed Schafer was born and raised in Bismarck, but while growing up, he spent summers working on his grandparents’ farm in Hettinger County. After earning two college degrees, Schafer began working at the Gold Seal Company. This North Dakota business, which had been founded by his father, Harold Schafer, produced and sold household products throughout the United States. Ed Schafer served as president of the company for seven years.
In 1992, Ed Schafer was elected governor of North Dakota and was re-elected for another four-year term in 1996. During his eight years as governor, Ed Schafer encouraged the growth of agricultural industries in the state and worked to increase exports of North Dakota agricultural products to other countries. Governor Schafer also led efforts to provide high-speed internet access to farmers, ranchers, and small towns.
On October 31, 2007, President George W. Bush appointed Ed Schafer to head the United States Department of Agriculture. On January 28, 2008, the U.S. Senate approved the appointment. Ed Schafer served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture until January 20, 2009.
In 2010, Ed Schafer was honored for his service to agriculture by being inducted into the North Dakota Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Schafer has long had an interest in building machinery and equipment from used, scrap materials. He was selected as a contestant on the Discovery Channel‘s engineering game show Junkyard Wars. His team worked to build a machine from junked components.
Feature article and newsmaker interview was from 2013.
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