Central ND News

Senator John Hoeven has announced support for the North Dakota Industrial Commission's decision to allocate $45.1 million toward enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the Bakken region. This state funding will aid the Crack the Code 2.0 initiative, which aims to increase both oil recovery and the operational lifespan of coal-fired power plants by partnering North Dakota’s oil and coal sectors.

Hoeven, who serves on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, is seeking up to $50 million in federal funds for this project, having already secured $12 million for preliminary research. The initial federal investment allowed the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) and Chord Energy to conduct 18 months of field and laboratory studies examining CO2 and natural gas liquid injection into unconventional oil reservoirs for EOR purposes.

Additionally, Hoeven has obtained commitments from Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy Kyle Haustveit to work with North Dakota on this initiative, aiming to boost Department of Energy (DOE) involvement. Combined federal and state resources are expected to leverage $76 million in private sector investment, bringing total project funding to around $171 million.

Hoeven also worked to ensure that recent legislative changes aligned the 45Q tax credit with EOR activities. This adjustment provides incentives for using CO2 in oil recovery operations while creating a new revenue stream for coal producers, supporting continued coal-fired electricity generation.

"EOR is a longtime proven technology. North Dakota demonstrates that every day through the Dakota Gasification Company, which has been providing CO2 to the Weyburn Field in Canada for EOR for 25 years. Now through Crack the Code 2.0, we’re working to bring this technique to the Bakken to benefit both our oil and coal industries, and today’s funding from the North Dakota Industrial Commission is an important step in that effort," said Hoeven. "The back-end of this project is already taken care of, as the corrections we made to tax incentives in the One Big Beautiful Bill provide a solid, long-term foundation for using EOR in the Bakken. In addition, we’ve already provided $12 million in federal research funding for EERC and Chord Energy to get this project going on the front-end. We’re working to bring that number up to $50 million to make this initiative a reality, and I look forward to continuing my efforts with Energy Secretary Wright and his team at DOE to do just that."