The annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference is underway in Bismarck this week.
"It's a bit of a celebration that we've all survived a very rough four-year period of time," said North Dakota Petroleum Council president Ron Ness. "The Bakken in back."
Ness said the WBPC is not just for oil industry professionals – but it’s also for developers.
"We know we're going to need more infrastructure and more housing," Ness said. "We want to show developers the longevity of of the Bakken."
Ness said new technology has allowed a lowering of the break-even price point for Bakken crude. He said that will further help the Bakken play.
"Oil prices are always going to cycle up and down," Ness said. "But as we're able to get better with oil prices going lower, it lowers the risk analysis for other investors. That's important."
Ness said this conference features a lot about new technologies developed in the Bakken for shale plays across the country. One of those new technologies is being developed by Liberty Resources and the Energy and Environmental Research Center.
"It's about the injection of raw Bakken natural gas back into the formation to try and further boost oil recovery," Ness said.
That pilot will be rolled out this fall in the Bakken.
The conference wraps up Thursday.