WATFORD CITY — The North Dakota Petroleum Council honored individuals and companies during its annual meeting in Watford City Sept. 22.

Larry Dokken of Williston was inducted into the North Dakota Petroleum Council Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those who have demonstrated dedication to the industry and who have made a significant impact on the development and growth of our industry.

Dokken has more than 56 years of experience working in the oil and gas industry, beginning in 1964 when he began working as a roughneck, rig opeator and tool pusher on work over and drilling rigs in the Williston Basin. He continued working in the industry in various leadership and consulting roles until he retired in October 2017.

After a short retirement, Dokken went back to work for Neset to oversee the Cares Act Plug and Abandon program for the State of North Dakota in June 2020. Leading and managing the program, putting North Dakota oilfield service companies back to work and providing jobs for thousands of oilfield employees is likely Dokken’s greatest contribution to the industry. A national well plugging program modeled after the great work done in North Dakota has been funded and passed by Congress.

NDPC also honored Brian Grote of Crosby and Brian Rosendahl of Westhope with its Distinguished Industry Leader Award.

The award is designed to acknowledge members of the oil and gas industry who go beyond the normal call of duty to help the industry educate the public and work towards improving public perception by supporting North Dakota Petroleum Foundation programs and other association activities.

Grote is a native of Crosby. He is regional manager of Balon Valves. Rosendahl is a native of Westhope. He is a sales representative for the Mondak region for Balon Valves.

Both Grote and Rosendahl are active volunteers in their communities, and with the generous support of Balon, they enjoy grilling for the various oilfield golf tournaments, cookouts, and community events in western North Dakota and eastern Montana.

NDPC presented the 2021 Industry Achievement Awards. These awards recognize members of the industry who demonstrate excellence in safety, community engagement and environmental stewardship.

ONEOK received the Excellence in Safety Award for its behavioral-based safety program. The program has helped transform the organization’s safety and health culture by providing employees a platform to present at-risk conditions and issues to front-line supervision and management for review and subsequent action.

Continental Resources was given the Excellence in Community Engagement Award for its Funding the Future grant program. Since 2013, Continental has awarded grants to fund science, technology, engineering, mathematics and reading initiatives in K-12 schools in North Dakota and other states where the company operates. Last year, $15,000 in funding the Future grants were awarded to six North Dakota schools, including Williston High School, Dickinson Public Schools, McKenzie County Public Schools, Alexander Public Schools, Divide County High School and Stanley Community School. The 2021 Funding the Future grant application deadline is Oct. 29. To apply, visit clr.com/fundingthefuture.