Our October 7th speaker was Ken DeCubellis, CEO of Black Ridge Oil and Gas.  Black Ridge Oil & Gas controls approximately 10,000 net acres in the Bakken and Three Forks areas in western North Dakota and eastern Montana.  The 2013 US Geological Survey assessment estimated that there are 3.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken Formation and an additional 3.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Three Forks Formation.  Black Ridge is not directly involved in drilling operations, but it does lease land over these oil-rich areas.  Much of our energy need has been sourced, at great cost, from the middle east but the development of horizontal drilling technology now allows previously inaccessible oil and natural gas deposits to be economically sourced from oil shale formations within our own borders.  The Black Ridge website features a video of the horizontal drilling process.  http://www.blackridgeoil.com/Drilling/   Ken acknowledged the fear that this kind of drilling might damage the environment, but suggested that proper safety measures can prevent such damage and that companies that fail to follow those procedures should be held fully accountable.  Setting aside the environmental debate, it is clear that there is enormous economic benefit in this domestic source of oil and gas.