The following day’s headline said: “Tioga Oil Flowing To Market Soon.”

North Dakota had entered the oil production business

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the discovery well, formally named the Clarence Iverson No. 1, south of Tioga, that propelled North Dakota into the ranks of oil producing states.

According to the files of The Minot Daily News:

Eloise Ogden/MDN The headline in The Minot Daily News on Friday, April 6, 1951, reported oil from the Clarence Iverson No. 1 well would be flowing to market soon.

Even before the official announcement of the oil discovery was made, the newspaper was reporting on what was taking place south of Tioga.

When the official announcement was made, the newspaper reported: “In publishing these reports, even without official confirmation, The News was the first daily newspaper in the state to advise its readers of the significance of the developments at Tioga and to report the probability that an oil well had been obtained.

“For several days the fore part of this week the greatest jet of natural gas that North Dakotans have ever seen had been issuing from the well.

“The grayish looking gas, with its sulphuric odor, jetted out so far that detour of traffic from a nearby county road had been necessary.

“Burning of the gas was started on Wednesday, and motorists reported at dusk that the burning jet of gas was visible for many miles, and that light from the burning gas could be seen 15 miles away.

“It was the first time in the history of Northwest North Dakota, also, that crude oil has flowed from any of the several test wells that have been put down in this region.

“Lending further credence to the hints of further drilling in the Clarence Iverson hole was the fact that a truck from Casper, Wyo., came thru Williston late Wednesday, carrying about 1,000 feet of additional drill stem.The strike by Amerada Petroleum Corp. (later Amerada Hess, Hess Corp., and now acquired by Chevron), a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based firm, set off a rush of speculation and activity that the state had never seen.

“Dr. Wilson Laird, of Grand Forks, state geologist, visited the Tioga well Wednesday afternoon, and in Williston was quoted as saying that the oil flow there ‘looks quite promising.’

“Also at Tioga yesterday was an Amerada official from Tulsa, a Mr. Burline,who was gone from the Williston-Tioga area today. He was reported to be a vice president of the company.”

Geologists had long felt oil lay underneath the prairies of North Dakota but the site near Tioga was the first to succeed.

Prior to starting the Iverson well, 40 permits had been taken out over the years for tests in North Dakota. Amerada Petroleum obtained Permit No. 41 on Aug. 4, 1950, for its test. The company drilled quietly and without much fanfare.

The first real indication of oil was revealed in January 1951, when about a pint of oil was recovered.

It was also reported in January that drilling had been very slow in the hard limestone formation, and the job was complicated further by road conditions from U.S. Highway No. 2 to the well site, south of Tioga.

Then in early April 1951, the announcement was made that oil had been struck at the Iverson well.

A photo taken by William Shemorry, a Williston newspaperman, the night of April 4, 1951, at the Iverson well during a gas burning operation that lit up the countryside was published in the weekly Press-Graphic in Williston, where he was managing editor, The Minot Daily News and many other newspapers and national magazines from one end of the nation to the other.

Shemorry would note in his writings that he made a late night trip to Minot to use the darkroom at The Minot Daily News and to Northwest Engravers, the closest place to make printing plates of his photos.

It took eight more months of testing in the various formations before the well was considered officially complete. The completion was announced on Dec. 17, 1951.

On its initial tests, the Iverson well produced 677 barrels of oil per day and opened up the first oil pool in North Dakota.

Crude oil produced in the first year of production in North Dakota amounted to 25,000 barrels.

Production in the first period of activity was confined to the Tioga and Beaver Lodge fields in Williams County.

In October 1953, a ceremony was held south of Tioga to unveil a monument symbolizing the birth of the oil industry in North Dakota.

The inscription on the monument reads:

“Oil was first discovered in North Dakota by Amerada Petroleum Corporation April 4, 1951. The Williston Basin discovery, Clarence Iverson No. 4, opened a new era for North Dakota and reaffirmed the confidence of her people in the opportunities and future of this great state. Dedicated October 25, 1953, Tioga, North Dakota.”

Today, North Dakota is the third top oil-producing state in the U.S. The state follows Texas and New Mexico in oil production nationwide.

2026 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference set for May

BISMARCK — The 33rd Williston Basin Petroleum Conference (WBPC) will take place May 19-21, at the Bismarck Event Center.

As the largest conference and trade show in the nation focused on the Bakken, Three Forks, and Williston Basin, the event brings together industry executives, policymakers, regulators, technical experts and business leaders for three days of discussion around the future of energy in the region.

Some of the highlights of the event are:

Tuesday, May 19 — 75 Years of Oil Dominance in North Dakota, celebrating impact, leadership and resilience.

— Opening day includes “Showcasing North Dakota’s Oil History,” a session featuring North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, NDPC’s President Ron Ness, and NESET President Kathy Neset.

Wednesday, May 20 — Bakken 2.0: Crack the Code, focusing on the future sustainability of the industry.

— Wednesday’s program includes remarks from Gov. Armstrong, Kyle Haustveit of the U.S. Department of Energy and Danny Brown, CEO of Chord Energy.

Thursday, May 21 — American Energy Dominance – America250 showcases the Bakken’s role in supporting national energy security.

— The conference closes featuring Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior; Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute; a fireside chat featuring Ryan Lance, CEO of ConocoPhillips and others.

Registration is available at wbpcnd.com

–MDN STAFF