"Why don't you go out to North Dakota and see what I am talking about," yelled the peripatetic Jim Cramer into the CNBC Mad Money camera tonight. "The Bakken is Rockin," he proclaimed, "the Williston basin is capable of doubling this nation's oil resources."
Kathleen was throwing some pork chops on the grill but she stopped everything to watch this. She's an old Bakken Shale oil fan and knows the family connection. Her mother-in-law even sends her news clippings about it now and then.
"How come I had to read about this in the trade journals and not on the front page of the New York Times," Cramer complained to his audience. Turns out that Cramer, usually well-informed, only recently discovered what we've known for quite some time: Western North Dakota, where Stan's Grandma and Grandpa made homestead claims over 100 years ago, is hot. Hotter, some say, than Saudi Arabia. And now, with crude oil hitting the $100 mark briefly, it's getting famous. Which is sure to make the Norwegians blush.
Cramer used up a 15-minute segment to slobber on about possible ways viewers could invest money in companies doing business related to the immense Bakken shale oil reserves. And he thought North Dakota was probably much safer than the Middle East. (He apparently hasn't ever seen Cousin Harold driving his pickup off-road.) It was fun to watch.
So how can you make money in western North Dakota?
Well, maybe Nils and Rebecca Rolfsrud had the right idea when they opened The Rolfsrud Restaurant and Lodging House 100 years ago. Their idea was to serve immigrants coming into the new land looking for land to farm. Nobody was thinking about oil then, of course. Just some fertile ground to plow around the rocks and gopher holes. Who knew from oil? Grandfather Nils, crippled by a mining accident, occupied himself taking Norwegian newcomers around in his buggy to find available claims.
Tonight, Cramer suggested investing in a number of companies we've heard of (Hess, CLR, Haliburton) and a host of others that we haven't. But all his investment strategies seem pretty complicated and risky and not very much fun.
"How come I had to read about this in the trade journals and not on the front page of the New York Times," Cramer complained to his audience. Turns out that Cramer, usually well-informed, only recently discovered what we've known for quite some time: Western North Dakota, where Stan's Grandma and Grandpa made homestead claims over 100 years ago, is hot. Hotter, some say, than Saudi Arabia. And now, with crude oil hitting the $100 mark briefly, it's getting famous. Which is sure to make the Norwegians blush.
Cramer used up a 15-minute segment to slobber on about possible ways viewers could invest money in companies doing business related to the immense Bakken shale oil reserves. And he thought North Dakota was probably much safer than the Middle East. (He apparently hasn't ever seen Cousin Harold driving his pickup off-road.) It was fun to watch.
So how can you make money in western North Dakota?
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| Rebecca |
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| Nils |
Tonight, Cramer suggested investing in a number of companies we've heard of (Hess, CLR, Haliburton) and a host of others that we haven't. But all his investment strategies seem pretty complicated and risky and not very much fun.
Maybe we'll just reopen the restaurant. Kathleen can grill a really good pork chop.
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| Stan's father and aunts outside the restaurant in Watford City, North Dakota. |
