U.S. Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy announced Wednesday that the University of North Dakota will receive $1 million in federal funds to undertake a geomechanical study of the Bakken Formation in order to improve the extraction of oil from the shale.

In April, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report requested by Sen. Dorgan estimating that the Bakken Shale formation holds up to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil and that it is the largest "continuous" oil accumulation the agency has ever assessed. The Bakken shale formation stretches across parts of western North Dakota and eastern Montana.

The funding comes as a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

"Earlier this year, we discovered just how much oil exists under western North Dakota, and this funding allows our state to continue researching new, advanced ways to extract that oil," said the Delegation in a joint statement. "Improved technology in recovering oil in the Bakken will attract even more investment into our state, furthering the growth of North Dakota's oil industry. This huge amount of oil, along with our booming renewable energy industry, means that North Dakota is playing a very important role in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil."

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