Central ND News

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders during his first week in office aimed at removing barriers to energy development, which could potentially have significant effects on North Dakota’s economy. 

The oil and gas industry in North Dakota contributes more than $42.6 billion—over 30% of the state’s gross business volume, according to researchers at North Dakota State University—and stands to benefit from changes such as streamlined environmental reviews and expanded access to federal lands for energy extraction.

Morton County alone received $40.7 million in property tax relief from North Dakota’s oil extraction and production tax revenue between 2008 and 2022, according to a report released by the North Dakota Petroleum Association.

One of the orders signed by Trump on Jan. 25 streamlined environmental reviews for oil and gas projects by eliminating duplicative requirements that had previously caused delays.

Another directed the Department of the Interior to open 10 million additional acres of federal land to oil, gas, and mineral extraction.

“These actions ensure that American energy producers have the resources and opportunities they need to provide energy security for the nation,” the orders stated.  

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) said these policies were significant for North Dakota.

“The United States has vast energy resources, and North Dakota is at the forefront of unlocking that potential,” Hoeven said in a statement. 

The executive orders also included the repeal of restrictions on pipeline construction, allowing energy infrastructure projects to move forward more quickly.

U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) said Trump’s orders are “welcome” after the Biden administration.

“There's a number of things that the Biden administration has done over and over again to really hamstring those types of resources—coal, natural gas, even the nuclear side of things have been dragging out,” Fedorchak said in an interview with NewsNation. “We have to start allowing more drilling on all of our federal lands and federal resources, and we can do that while preserving the environment.”

“You can come to my state, and I could show you, you can drill into the national park without ever touching one centimeter of federal soil,” Fedorchak said. 

Trump’s orders also directed federal agencies to increase interagency coordination to reduce inefficiencies in energy project permitting.

The long-term impact of Trump’s energy orders on the North Dakota economy remains uncertain, but oil and gas revenues have provided $5.9 billion for local communities and infrastructure, as well as more than $1.8 billion for K-12 education, making any changes to energy development likely to have a significant effect on the state.