DICKINSON, N.D., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- North Dakota is a "perfect example" of how new drilling technologies are reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said.
Jewell met with state officials during a tour of oil and natural gas production facilities.
The state hosts the Bakken shale reserve formation, which the state government said last month helped it achieve record-breaking oil and natural gas production thanks in part to new drilling technologies like hydraulic fracturing.
"The Bakken boom is a perfect example of how new and improved technology is allowing industry to tap previously inaccessible or unknown energy resources to create jobs, decrease our dependence on foreign oil, and grow our economy," Jewell said in a Wednesday statement.
The federal Energy Department said it expects domestic crude oil production to exceed imports by October, the first time this will have happened in more than 18 years.
Jewell said oil and gas leasing, exploration and production in the state, administered by her department, contributed $5.9 billion in economic output to the state last year.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, told Jewell the states, not the federal government, should be leading the way in regulating energy development.
