The 2022 update of North Dakota’s Oil and Gas Tax Study is complete and there is good news - the revenue from the energy industry’s taxes benefits every person in the state.

The Western Dakota Energy Association, in partnership with the North Dakota Petroleum Council, presented results of the updated study in a news conference at the Capitol this week. The biennial study reviews expenditures of the Extraction Tax and Gross Production Tax collected by the state. The study includes data from fiscal years 2008 to 2022 and illustrates how the funding has been distributed by the North Dakota Legislature. 

Brent Bogar, senior consultant with AE2S, led the team that developed the report. Bogar said it shows the state has collected nearly $27 billion in oil tax revenue, which has been distributed through more than a dozen state funds.

Click here to listen to Bogar's comments.

The news conference included comments from Williston Senator Brad Bekkedahl and House Minority Leader Josh Boschee from Fargo. Bekkedahl said the study was initially developed nearly five years ago to address the misperception that the bulk of oil tax revenue was being spent in western North Dakota.

Click here to listen to Bekkedahl's comments.

Bekkedahl said the study is a great asset for legislators to see how oil tax revenue is being spent throughout the state.

Click here to listen to Bekkedahl's comments.

Boschee said every resident of North Dakota should understand and appreciate how oil tax revenue has delivered benefits to the state, and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

Click here to listen to Boschee's comments.

Ron Ness, president of the ND Petroleum Council, encouraged legislators to keep the study handy to help them understand and educate their constituents about the statewide benefits of the oil and gas industry.

Click here to listen to Ness' comments.

The study breaks down tax distributions by type and by county, and includes "heat maps" to show the level of spending in various parts of the state. The data utilized to develop the biennial study comes from the Department of Mineral Resources, Department of Water Resources, State Tax Department, State Treasurer, Office of Management and Budget, Legislative Council, State Investment Board, Department of Public Instruction, and Department of Transportation.

Click here to read or download the study, or find it on WDEA's homepage at www.ndenergy.org.