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00:00The Bakken Shale Formation has been a beacon for recovery for the rest of the nation.
00:14We have so much oil in this country just through use of our technology.
00:18Two miles down and two miles out from where we're standing right here.
00:21We can keep it within seven feet.
00:23If I'm in this land, I don't want a bunch of oil wells here.
00:26We're pulling a million barrels of oil a day out of the Bakken Shale Formation.
00:30We're part of a movement. It's a revolution.
00:33Cool to start a fire, I'm burning diesel, burning dinosaur bones.
00:37I lived in California.
00:39Arkansas.
00:40Wyoming.
00:41Arizona.
00:42Washington.
00:43New Mexico.
00:44Montana.
00:45We are struggling with the influx of people.
00:47When I first moved out here, I lived in a Winnebago with three other men.
00:52Never, never, never go outside without putting a gun on. Ever, ever, ever.
00:55Rent is outrageous.
00:57Groceries are outrageous.
00:59Fuel is outrageous.
01:00Don't care.
01:01Right, wrong, indifferent.
01:03Every man works for one thing.
01:06Money.
01:08I'm gonna break, I'm gonna break my, gonna break my rusty cage.
01:16I'm gonna break, I'm gonna break my, gonna break my rusty cage.
01:24And run.
01:25A little change up from yesterday, fellas.
01:26We're gonna be going through town, taking the truck route, continuing east.
01:39Because this is a long convoy, know who's in front of you, know who's behind you, okay?
01:42If you miss a corner or something like that, just, you know, call out over the radio who you are and where in position you are.
01:47Does anybody have any questions as far as where we're going?
01:50All right, fellas, let's mount up.
01:52Let's make it happen.
01:54The men in this room are from all over the United States.
01:58And Travis Bostic, their leader, is no different.
02:02A cowboy at heart, he ranches in Wyoming when he isn't working in the oil fields.
02:07Today, he's wrangling a different kind of herd.
02:11This company's gone from one crew to three crews in North Dakota.
02:15And the way that everybody's grown, it's been really neat to watch.
02:18It's still tough to learn everybody's names all at once.
02:21Travis and the men of liberty are frackers, high-tech fortune hunters seeking a treasure miles underground.
02:28You and that whole road, that'll be the first row of horsepowers to leave out.
02:33This takes a lot of horsepower.
02:36Fifteen tractor trailers will move 800 tons of equipment to the well site, located about 15 miles from Williston.
02:43But first, they have to get out of the yard.
02:46Unit 1110, I don't know if we got a driver for that. We'll get a...
02:50What's the pump number?
02:51Travis's right-hand man, Justin Allen, also known as Bieber, has discovered the day's first problem.
02:57There's a truck with no driver.
02:59Eight, 49.
03:00Hey, Shrek, you copy, Shrek?
03:03Here I go.
03:05What unit are you in right now?
03:07Everybody above.
03:08They had you on two different boards. Evidently, you got twins. You were supposed to grab 20, 49, too.
03:14I'll, uh, set my clone over.
03:17This is also part of the growing pains. Really no big deal. We got, uh, guys that we keep as reserve drivers, just in case something gets missed.
03:29With all the trucks now manned, the rollout's still on schedule.
03:33Travis and Justin lead the convoy, while fellow crew leader Derek Pointer brings up the rear.
03:39Oh, yeah, we're gonna go right through town. We're gonna be parading, man.
03:43The bad boys right here. The bad boys of Frank.
03:48I wanted to be a roughneck since I was, like, four years old.
03:51I come from a long line of fuel and gas business in my blood.
03:55Hitting up early? I like it.
03:57You know, you're out that door, and you're mounted up ready to kick some more ass,
04:01because that's exactly what you've done the day before, and you're gonna do it again.
04:05Now we're gonna meet up, huddle up, talk about some safety. We're gonna make it happen. You're gonna see some neat stuff here.
04:13While we're laying down iron, guys, just remember, the slips, trips, falls, the pinch points. Remember our PPE, safety glasses, hard hat.
04:21If you guys do get hurt in any way at all, please report it to us. We'll get the necessary paperwork filled out and get that done and taken care of.
04:29You don't want something biting you in the butt 20 years down the road.
04:31The nearest hospital is Williston, North Dakota. We have life flight coordinates supporting the paperwork in my truck and the data van.
04:38Let's get in there and kick some ass, be careful, be safe, be where you're supposed to be, and we'll meet up once more, split up like Mr. Bostic said.
04:45Be careful. Help each other out, you know, just like you guys always do. Let's make it happen, man. That's all I got.
04:55The oil-rich Bakken Shale Formation is located in parts of Montana, North Dakota, and Canada.
05:01The entire region contains over 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making it one of the world's largest petroleum reserves.
05:10What's happening in this high-tech energy playground has ramifications from D.C. to Dubai.
05:17This is really going to set the standard for what the oil industry plays on for a long time.
05:22Fracking is a hot-button environmental issue that sparked global debate.
05:27Opponents fear it leads to groundwater contamination and other forms of pollution.
05:32In the Bakken and elsewhere, reports of oil spills, fires, blowouts, and toxic wastewater leaks have been on the rise.
05:40The state of New York and several American cities have even banned fracking outright.
05:44Here, too, some are concerned about the dangers, but their voices are outnumbered by those who profit from the boom.
05:52Billions of dollars are at stake when it goes bust is anybody's guess.
05:58These are the stories of the boom-towners, the locals under siege.
06:03They're raping the land, ruining the land.
06:05The fortune-seekers.
06:07Have a good time with it. Make a lot of money.
06:09The hopeful.
06:11I'm no example.
06:12The desperate.
06:13Three months later, the company is going bankrupt and we have nothing.
06:17The realists.
06:19The oil field brings the lowest class of people.
06:21That is, hands down, the God's honest truth.
06:24And the dreamers.
06:26Whatever you want, it's at your grasp. It's just how hard you want to work.
06:42I'm up this early.
06:43So I can go to work, get my day done, and still be able to spend some time with my family in the evening, from about five till eights, part of nine.
06:58When the boom was revving up in 2010, most of the oil workers in the Bakken had homes and families elsewhere.
07:07Ben Moorhead did that too for several months before moving his family here from Phoenix.
07:12Every year that I've driven a truck, I've made less money than I did the year before. Everything just kept going down.
07:18The recession hit and North Dakota became a magnet and people just started flocking up here.
07:24I do like the social values out here. There's a lot of hard working people.
07:27It's just a good work ethic, good people to have your kids around.
07:33There's something about it up here. I really like it.
07:36And I think it might be because if I go anywhere else in the United States to work right now, I'm going to be broke.
07:41So I'm probably forced to like it.
07:43At any given time in the Bakken, there are thousands of trucks carrying hazardous materials on public roads.
07:50These trucks are potential bombs on wheels.
07:53This gives us our packing group. It's packing group number three.
07:55It's flammable and this tells you what it is.
07:59The placards just indicate what you're carrying.
08:00That way the emergency responders, if you happen to flip your truck, know what they're dealing with.
08:05Ben hauls crude oil and has had a hazardous materials license for 12 years.
08:10He also knows how to test the quality of crude.
08:13This is a Bakken box.
08:15People probably don't understand that along with these trucks going down the road that we have a laboratory.
08:19I'm more than a truck driver. I'm also a scientist.
08:21Ben will test and deliver crude oil from three wells today. It will take 14 hours.
08:29And behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relative a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses.
08:40I always try to set time aside to pray, to read the Bible.
08:43That's why I wake up early in the morning. I pray. I get into the word.
08:48And my pastors who discipled me early, they taught me that.
08:51They said, you need to be ready to share the gospel with anybody at any time.
08:55Sean Banks is a pastor who spends almost all of his free time studying the Bible and sharing his religion on the streets of Williston, North Dakota.
09:02How are you doing, man? Good. Can I give you one of these?
09:06Sure. You're a lying, thieving fornicator.
09:09If God were to judge you by those standards right now, heaven or hell?
09:15Probably hell.
09:17Okay, does that concern you? Some people receive it and some people reject it.
09:21You know, what I do is I tell them the gospel. I try to encourage them that life is short.
09:26Nobody knows when their time is going to come.
09:28Sean arrived in the Bakken from Port Orchard, Washington, four years ago.
09:33He's seen a lot of growth, not all of it good.
09:37The Bakken presents itself as a thing that could be used as a blessing, but some people are using it for bad things.
09:44Fellas, I know you guys are young and you guys are having fun and I get that.
09:48You guys have to repent of your sins and believe the gospel, but hell is very real and eternal.
09:54Pastoring remains a part-time job, at least for now.
09:57Jesus says, I would do this for free. It's just you can't do it for free full-time.
10:04I have to provide for my family, for Brooke, Isaiah and Jeremiah.
10:07To make ends meet, Sean does what most people do here. He works in the oil field.
10:12If I didn't work for Basin Safety, it would not be enough to live on in the Bakken.
10:21Today, Sean is working at a typical production well, just north of Williston.
10:26His job at Basin Safety is to check wells like this one for deadly hydrogen sulfide, more commonly known as H2S.
10:35If you breathe H2S above a certain level, you will die.
10:44Over 10% of the wells we go to, if you were to breathe it in without the equipment, you would not make it.
10:49I have gotten a little nervous before with him working with H2S, but God has literally a day where he's going to take Sean, and no circumstances is going to change that.
11:04H2S training is required from most roughnecks.
11:08The deadly gas is a potential danger on many well sites.
11:12The one Sean inspects has some of the highest H2S levels in the Bakken.
11:17If I were to pick something, I were to pick die preaching the gospel.
11:22That's what I would pick if I could pick anything.
11:24To glorify Jesus by proclaiming his word, that's what I'd pick.
11:33All right, this is typical Monday morning.
11:42We're going to go in, we're going to see anybody that's in jail that was arrested over the weekend, and then there'll be walk-in traffic.
11:49This is Ripon County Justice Court, it's now in session. This is case number 510850.
11:54Sydney, Montana Court Judge Greg Moore has been on the bench for 28 years, but he's never been busier than he is now.
12:00The caseload, it just keeps increasing and increasing and increasing, and it just gets crazier.
12:07Arrests in Sydney have increased by 165% in three years.
12:12No one could sit there and predict what was going to happen.
12:16We woke up and here's an 800-pound gorilla in bed with us, called the Bakken.
12:21Criminals and scofflaws are attracted to the boom for the same reason as everyone else, opportunity.
12:26This is go west, young man. I mean, this is the new goal field.
12:32There were some fist fights, a couple of thefts.
12:35Not guilty?
12:37This is actually it.
12:38Staying clean?
12:39Yep.
12:40All right, man.
12:42Case 104838471, disorderly conduct by urinating in a box inside the Cenex store.
12:47The people that we're seeing in these courtrooms now are belligerent, confrontational.
12:53Well, I've asked people to remove their hats in the courtroom, and one guy says, what happens if I don't?
12:57Based on my training and experience, I recognize the results of that someone was under the influence of alcohol and or drugs.
13:04Judge Moore is regarded locally as tough, a little unconventional, and fair.
13:09You sure you don't want to speak with an attorney?
13:12Uh, they'd probably be in my best interest.
13:15Well, I cannot give you legal advice.
13:17Yeah, so...
13:18Okay, so you want to speak with an attorney?
13:20Yes, sir.
13:21Okay, there you go.
13:22But I understand, you know, what folks are going through.
13:25There's a lot of people that have lost what they had, where they came from, due to the economy.
13:29You got me?
13:30Yes.
13:31All right, good.
13:32Because if you don't get me, I will get you.
13:33Some locals in the Bakken feel these newcomers are more than simply a nuisance.
13:43I never go out.
13:45Never, never, never go outside without putting a gun on.
13:47Ever, ever, ever.
13:49And locking one of the doors.
13:51Yeah, yeah.
13:53To go throw that ball.
13:54Come on, baby.
13:55Sandy Beagle Angel was born in Sydney and raised two children here.
13:59The farm where she resides has been in her family for three generations.
14:03Oh, here we are.
14:06She shares 180 acres with her yellow lab bow and numerous stray cats.
14:11Catch!
14:13For years, Sandy's lashed out at the oil companies that are changing her community.
14:18I'm going to be sitting out there in my rocking chair with a shotgun on my lap.
14:24Just saying to people, get off my land.
14:27This is my land and I'm here to stay.
14:30But despite all her objections, Sandy's world continues to change.
14:35I have a lot of friends that have sold their homes for huge prices and gotten a lot of money and moved to building to wherever.
14:42But this is home.
14:43I find this land, I don't want a bunch of oil wells here.
14:47This is my sanctuary, my habitat, my place where I feel safe.
14:52I love the animals, I love the birds, you know.
14:56I just love nature.
14:58I mean, a lot of people, they look at a well and say, isn't that beautiful?
15:05And I just don't think so.
15:08The debate about fracking may rage outside the Bakken, but here in the heart of oil country, Sandy is often a rare voice of dissent.
15:17And when these big companies come in and start raping the land, I don't like that.
15:26This area is actually called the Williston Basin.
15:37But everybody calls it the Bakken.
15:39It's the Bakken Shale Formation is what they're talking about down below.
15:42I'm a third generation Marine.
15:45I spent five years and I was a crash fire rescue.
15:48And the reason I did crash fire rescue is I wanted to be a sniper when I went in.
15:51My dad was in Vietnam, he said, why don't you do something that when you get out of the Marine Corps, you can be something besides a mercenary.
15:59Probably should have been a mercenary.
16:02Sounds like a more interesting job.
16:06Every day in the Bakken, 645,000 barrels of crude oil are transported by a truck from remote well sites to a shipping facility.
16:14Van Moorhead will haul 600 of those barrels today in three trips.
16:18His first stop is a few miles from nowhere in rural North Dakota.
16:24First thing I do when I pull up to the tanks is I make sure I'm at the right place.
16:29I grab my Bakken box inside the truck, turn my pump on, turn my heaters on from my little laboratory there, grab my hose, pull it over, set up my ground, hook up to the tank and I go straight up.
16:38Do your homework?
16:41Van then enters the data into his grease book.
16:44When I first started here, I didn't understand why it was called a grease book.
16:47Until I had one for a month and it was all greasy.
16:50Then it made sense.
16:52If Ben's tests show that the oil is not contaminated, he will fill his tanks, pay for his cargo, and transport it to the shipping facility.
17:00So I've been up since 2 o'clock in the morning. I finally got my first load on. It's about 10 now. I'm just getting started. I got two more loads to do after this. So we got to get on the road.
17:09Come on. Let's see what they're up to here.
17:20The Liberty Oil Field Services frack team begins to rig up, preparing to start the controversial practice called hydraulic fracturing.
17:29Hey, y'all. Truck coming at you. Truck's moving.
17:33Each trailer is carrying a piece of fracking equipment. It's up to Travis to ensure that the trucks are parked in a specific order in relation to the two well heads.
17:42It might seem like kind of a long process, but the size of these jobs is really what is telling us how much equipment we need. So the biggest thing is just getting them spotted and getting them spotted safely.
17:52As hydraulic fracturing technology becomes more sophisticated, oil production is going through the roof. In 2005, the Bakken produced around 2,800 barrels a day. In 2014, that number raced past 1 million barrels a day.
18:10Nice job. Good turn.
18:12These boys are pretty good drivers. I couldn't do that.
18:16The price tag for this equipment is huge, about $32 million. A steep drop in the price of oil would affect the entire region. Eventually, it could make fracking non-profitable.
18:29But for now, the party continues.
18:32I got my homeboys over here. They're spotting these pumps. They're just fine. They don't need my assistance. I'm going to help this guy right here. The triple axle love machine. Here we go.
18:41All right, come on in here with that thing. That's the triple axle love machine. That's the flagship of this crew, man.
18:49The object of Derek's affection is a custom fabricated crane truck built and designed by the Liberty Crew for the Liberty Crew.
18:57Now, we got such mean-ass pride. I'm going to show you why. A little dirty. Is that not cool or what? I call it the tattoo, the tramp stamp, so to speak. Man-ass frack company. That's us. That's what we do. We're going to show you why.
19:14The iron truck has an onboard crane that moves the heavy pipes into position so they can be connected.
19:21All right, you ready? Here we go, check.
19:22Frack fluid will be pumped through these pipes and into the well at extremely high pressure.
19:27Those are certain conditions that we have to follow pretty strictly. This iron right here is only rated for 10,000 pounds. The red iron that you'll see below, that's rated for 15,000 pounds. It's all based on ratings. It's based on regulations meant to control pressure, control the well, and also keep people safe.
19:46Our max pressure is going to be about 9,500 pounds. We'll operate anywhere from 85 to 9,000. I know what pressure it's capable of, and it could be up even sometimes to a dangerous amount.
19:59I am absolutely exhausted. My husband has been working more hours than he ever has. I'm tired of not seeing him. I'd like to go see a movie.
20:24It's been a year and a half since the senior family moved to the Bakken from Southern California.
20:29Hey, Jill, can you grab the door?
20:31Guys, start grabbing stuff.
20:33It's been a big change from their old life.
20:36Every Friday was date night, and here we don't get that as much.
20:41Deanna works for the county, and husband Ray works very long hours in the oil field.
20:48You have to work that hard to make the money to live here.
20:51Hey, Logan, why don't you sit down and play video games while everyone else works?
20:55Where do I put the watermelon?
20:57Over there.
20:58Raising four children in the Bakken is expensive.
21:01How much do we spend?
21:03Three hours.
21:04Well, okay, let's put it this way.
21:05No, it was not.
21:06I spent $400.
21:08Then Ray spent $400, correct?
21:11$800.
21:12That was $380.
21:14What are you doing?
21:15Huh?
21:16What are you going to do with my phone?
21:17I'm going to read your text.
21:18No!
21:19It's chaotic.
21:21I get home, and it's like, all right, it's like a second job.
21:26Oh, right on.
21:27These are the awesome people that built this house.
21:29Let's just hang on.
21:30Hello?
21:31To add to the family stress, their new house is falling apart.
21:34What's that?
21:35Did the countertop come?
21:37Yes.
21:38Great.
21:39Is it just the middle section or the whole counter?
21:44Not just the middle section.
21:46Well, we're back to where we're at.
21:49The Bakken oil boom has created a housing crunch in Williston.
21:53New houses are built quickly, sometimes with poor results.
21:57I mean, the whole thing is completely lifting.
22:00The damn drawer won't even close.
22:02Between you and me, I guess.
22:04Ray Sr. is rarely home, and when he is, there's a mountain of problems waiting for him.
22:10Then just replacing the top part is now not even a question.
22:14Since moving to the Bakken, the happy-go-lucky Sr. family has been burning the candle at both ends.
22:19Mom, Brian's just being hurtful.
22:29This road is one of my favorite roads to drive.
22:32Here's the Badlands.
22:35That's pretty, ain't it?
22:38Ben Moorhead has been driving his truck all day, and his final crude oil pickup is in the middle of North Dakota's famous Badlands.
22:46I like this road because of the scenery, and when it's rainy or snowy or icy, there's just something very gratifying about making it to the top.
22:56It's an adrenaline rush that I don't think you can get anywhere else.
22:59It's not like bungee jumping or any other crap.
23:01It's a man and machine versus the earth.
23:05It took 65 million years to create the layers of sediment that are evident above ground here.
23:11Some of those layers are shale, similar to the shale that's two miles underground and doused in oil.
23:18Transporting that oil to market can be dangerous.
23:22Some of these roads are barely wide enough for one truck to get down.
23:26If you meet a truck on the other side, somebody's got to scoot over or back up, and that shoulder would give way on in.
23:31We've had trucks go over.
23:33Tumble 400 feet to your doom.
23:44Sean Banks works three days a week at Basin Safety, checking oil sites for deadly H2S gas.
23:52He splits the rest of his time between his ministry and his family.
23:57You know, I grew up, and my dad wasn't around.
24:00He's a very nice man, but he just wasn't around, and I'm not going to do that with my boys.
24:05It's a nice goal, but life in the Bakken is making it difficult to practice what he preaches.
24:11You came home last week, and Isaiah didn't even see you a couple nights because you came home so late.
24:17He's already in bed.
24:18It all comes down to money. Oil is booming in the Bakken, but churches aren't.
24:23Lately, the offerings have been a little lower than normal.
24:26You have people coming and going through a transient city.
24:29That affects us financially. It affects us in a way that I manage my time.
24:34Sean would like to cut his hours at Basin.
24:39Originally, we were working two days a week, and then it got bumped up to three.
24:43Okay, so what would two days be at Basin?
24:461760.
24:48Ouch.
24:49Well, that's two days.
24:50Right, but I'm saying we can't obviously do two days.
24:53The only way I ever want to work 60, 70, 80 hours a week is for Jesus.
24:59To pay the bills, Sean may have to work even more days at Basin.
25:04New and improved budget.
25:07Are we past due on one?
25:09Let's just call this utilities.
25:11Netflix is $8.
25:13Insurance is $100.
25:14Car payment.
25:15This is the oil field, so that's just the way it is.
25:19I mean, rent's higher here, food's higher here.
25:22$800 a month, that's a lot.
25:25Food's just way more expensive here.
25:27We've got to make $4,500 in hand no matter what.
25:32Okay.
25:33So.
25:34Four days it is.
25:36We're just going to go four days a week right now with Basin Safety.
25:40And that will meet all of our needs for financial stuff right now.
25:44Back at the Liberty frack site, what you see is history in the making.
25:56Depending on the price of oil, it's very conceivable that America will pass Saudi Arabia
26:01to become the globe's biggest producer of oil and natural gas as early as 2020.
26:06And it's fracking that's made this possible.
26:09This heavy stuff, big old sledgehammers.
26:12This is a lot of fun.
26:13It's the best part of our job right here.
26:15The Liberty Oil Field Services crew is in the process of connecting about 200 junctions
26:20of iron pipes at the well site.
26:22Watch your head.
26:23Here we go, cowboy.
26:24Hang on to it.
26:25Man.
26:26Setting up the pipe system is only a small part of the fracking process.
26:31The oil is located in shale rock about 10,000 feet below ground.
26:36A hole is drilled vertically, then horizontally through the shale.
26:40They reinforce the hole with steel casing and cement.
26:43Then, a perforating gun lowered by wireline explodes charges into the rock.
26:48That is where the Liberty team comes in.
26:51Wireline has to go down and they perforate.
26:53We then come in after wireline is removed from the hole and we start pumping a specific type of fluid.
26:59The tanks and trucks on site create the fluid and then pump it into the well.
27:05There's a long, direct row of water tanks.
27:08That row is about 15 tanks deep.
27:10Water comes from the water tanks to this hydration unit, okay?
27:14That hydration unit is going to be added in with chemicals and sent to this blender unit.
27:18This blender is taking on chemicals and adding sand to create a profit-laden fluid.
27:23It's coming directly out of this manifold, feeding to the horsepower units of these pump trucks,
27:29which is sent to the missile, which is sent directly down hole to the well heads.
27:34We reach at certain climaxes of pressure.
27:36That formation literally cannot stay strong and compound anymore.
27:40It just is forced to start breaking, hence the fracturing process.
27:44Twelve motors, generating 27,000 hydraulic horsepower, pump the fluid into the hole at extremely high pressure.
27:52The perforated rock is fractured and filled with sand and small ceramic balls known as profit,
27:57allowing the oil to drain from the rocks once production begins.
28:01The section is then plugged and the process is repeated in stages.
28:05And we're going to do that in series all the way up this well.
28:09That's why we call this a plug-in perf well.
28:12The Liberty team will frack 70 stages in a week and a half.
28:16It may be even faster.
28:18If we can go fast and do it right and do it safe, we're going to do it.
28:21That's all just kind of how everything underground is going to treat us.
28:24If it's going to be nice, sweet, we'll take advantage of it.
28:26If it's not, it's going to be finicky.
28:28Well, we know what to do to make it not so finicky.
28:31Doing the job right is essential.
28:33One mistake can reduce the well's output by hundreds of barrels a day.
28:38Let's get ready to back in here.
28:41Liberty has fracked hundreds of wells, but each side comes with a unique set of problems.
28:47And Liberty boss Alan Penman has just discovered a big one.
28:51We always get to hold the tickets.
28:52Why do you look so angry?
28:53Ah!
28:57Why do you look so angry?
28:58Ah!
28:59You guys want to take a look at something at the wellhead real quick on that camera manifold?
29:02What's going on, gentlemen?
29:04We all right?
29:05Liberty boss Alan Penman has discovered a problem.
29:08One of the wellheads is missing a junction that connects the pump to the pipes.
29:13We don't have any way in from here.
29:15They didn't put a block or a cap.
29:17So we're going to sand off everything on this well every time we're fracking that one.
29:22The piece is called a manifold, and missing one could prove costly once production starts.
29:27Right now, there's only one path to get the frack fluid to both wells.
29:31We put our fluid into this side.
29:33So when we're stimulating down this well, sand will slowly start to pack off in here.
29:42The accumulated sand could clump up and then be pushed into the other well once they begin to frack it,
29:48plugging the fractures they're trying to expand.
29:51And it has in the past caused screen outs, which is the opposite of what we're trying to achieve here.
29:56So the only real effective way to do this to prevent a problem later is to just have them bring another one.
30:02Zavanna is the exploration and production company that hired Liberty to frack the two wells.
30:07It's their call to make.
30:09Zavanna's representative on site is Corey Stevens.
30:12He's what's known in the oil business as the company man.
30:16Nobody wants to be the company that's responsible for everybody else sitting on location doing nothing.
30:21There's a lot of cost involved, and he has to make the decision that one, yes, we do need this part and make the call and get it out here.
30:29If the part arrives without delay, then the pumps should start on schedule.
30:34Just tell them the same, send the exact same thing.
30:37Yeah.
30:38Okay.
30:39Time is money.
30:40In this case, they're probably going to cut it pretty close.
30:43You said they're coming out of Minot?
30:44Yep.
30:45Probably.
30:46It's not a catastrophic problem because we caught it now.
30:51If we hadn't caught this and only tied into one side, the wrist there, especially on your toe stages, was too great.
31:00Hell with it.
31:01Here we go.
31:02In the meantime, there's still more rig up work to be done before they can fire up.
31:06Ninety-nine percent of this industry is based on problem solving, but we continue to keep a pretty good base throughout these projects.
31:13It'll go really quick, actually, really fast.
31:24Let's go off-roading.
31:25Ben's 14-hour day is finally behind him, and he's home with his two boys.
31:30Mom should be home from work soon, but in the meantime, it's daddy time.
31:35We're going up high.
31:36Here we go.
31:37Here we go.
31:38Ready?
31:39Let's do it again.
31:40You think we can put our wheels over the top?
31:41No, no, no.
31:42Put the wheels over the top.
31:43It's just mounds of dirt where they dug the basement out, but they think it's awesome.
31:55They think we're climbing up Mount Everest.
31:57So much fun.
31:58That's right.
31:59Want to do it backwards?
32:00No, no.
32:01Why not?
32:02We can look at the dirt.
32:04Daddy time is special time.
32:06We get to do things that when Mama's around, she's probably going to yell at us for it.
32:10Ready?
32:11Here we go.
32:20Going down.
32:22First floor.
32:27Having children has absolutely changed my life.
32:30As far as riding a motorcycle around the country, eh, not really happening.
32:34But as far as everything else, man, my kids are awesome.
32:37We really cherish our time together because I work so much.
32:43We got to see if Mama wants to do this.
32:45You think she wants to?
32:46No.
32:47I kind of doubt it.
32:50Hi, babies.
32:52You guys ready to go to the fair?
32:53Yeah.
32:54Tough enough to wear pink?
32:55Yeah.
32:56Yeah.
32:57Yeah.
32:58Yeah.
32:59Yeah.
33:00All right.
33:01Let's go get ready.
33:02Yeah.
33:03Ben and Phoebe have been together for over seven years, but only recently contemplated putting
33:08down roots.
33:09We're both gypsy souls.
33:10We've gone all over the world, really.
33:12I mean, all over the country, anyway.
33:14And I ended up here and discovered that this was a good place to be.
33:18Go ask Mama when she thinks you're here.
33:20I'm the one that just did it.
33:22No, he's not wearing that.
33:23I told him the same thing.
33:25Back me up.
33:26Back me up.
33:27Tonight, the family's going to the Richland County Fair.
33:30I am backing me up.
33:31I told him I was going to...
33:32Falcon.
33:33As soon as I take off my high heels.
33:35Run, boy!
33:36Benzo.
33:37The reason why we're staying is because we love it here.
33:43The fair, for example.
33:44I am excited.
33:45The kids are excited.
33:46In Phoenix, where we're from, that would never happen.
33:49You know?
33:50We would never...
33:51The fair is someplace where we want to avoid.
33:55Tomorrow's Files.
33:56We're going to call her at A.
34:00Judge Moore is finishing his work day.
34:05And like most people in town, he's eager to get to the county fair.
34:10Where's the sweet potatoes?
34:12We have a lot of local celebrations that we'll cook for.
34:16Bunches of us just trade off doing it.
34:19Aluminum pans.
34:20The judge loves to cook.
34:22So every year, he helps out at the fair preparing meals for the visiting performers.
34:27That would have cost you about 20 bucks.
34:29Now it's 200.
34:31Judge Moore grew up on a farm in Iowa and has never lost his love for small town living.
34:36There's a doctor that lives there.
34:38There's a pastor at one of the churches that lives there.
34:41A local insurance girl here.
34:43Now the small town is filling up with strangers.
34:47Things are switching fast.
34:49Now this, you know, these developments, these trailers that are brought in here,
34:52I could drive you around and show you places that just popped up overnight.
34:56The influx of people and crime in town keeps the judge busy in court during the day and housebound at night.
35:03Here's the problem, is we don't eat out.
35:06Because if I try to go out in this town, you'll run into somebody that, you know,
35:10you might have had a bad experience with in a courtroom, and then it always just goes downhill from there.
35:15Daylight belongs to us, darkness belongs to them.
35:18I mean, that's just the bottom line.
35:20The judge takes a self-imposed house arrest in stride.
35:23Cooking at the fair is just one of several ways he's found to connect with his community.
35:28Well, they do look nice, y'all, boss.
35:30Oh, thank you.
35:31Hey, tough enough to wear paint?
35:32Way to go, bud.
35:33Get it.
35:41Like Judge Moore, the seniors are on their way to the Richland County Fair.
35:45Did she pee?
35:46No, she still didn't pee.
35:48Have her smell right there, and then she might go.
35:51Can we just put down pee-pee pads and then we'll go?
35:54Today, like many days since they moved to the Bakken, Deanna Sr. is dealing with life without her husband Ray.
36:01Okay, let's roll.
36:02Here, take it.
36:03Take it.
36:04Ray Sr. is a pump lease operator.
36:08His job is to travel between 14 wells, making sure they're pumping efficiently.
36:13What you're looking at is a pad, and what you'll find on the pad is the oil tanks, the treater house, the treater itself.
36:22You'll find the pump jack, the well head, and pretty much anything on the pad I'm responsible for.
36:29Ray's job keeps him on the road for long stretches, while his family drives in the opposite direction to the county fair.
36:37Entering Mach 3, Mach 4.
36:39Mach 44.
36:404.5.
36:41Mach 82.
36:42Mach 5.
36:43Can we get food on the way there?
36:45No, we're going to a fair that has food.
36:48Yeah, we're going to get food at the fair.
36:49That's why I drive, so I have the power to get food whenever I want.
36:52He's looking up like 60 million times.
36:53Oh my god, we are all right here.
36:55You could use your indoor voice for just a minute.
36:57Our family is very intense.
37:00There's a lot that goes on.
37:02There's a lot of noise, there's a lot of talking, there's a lot of insanity.
37:05Everybody in our house gets to voice their opinion, gets to be an individual.
37:09This is like the first time where I've missed father.
37:12This is the first time you've ever missed your dad?
37:16Mm-hmm.
37:17That's not nice.
37:20Mommy, where are we?
37:22We're probably lost, sis.
37:28The Richland County Fair and Rodeo began as a small street fair in 1920.
37:33Now it attracts more than 30,000 people a year.
37:37Sandy Beagle Angel grew up going to the fair.
37:40I come every year to the fair.
37:42Ever since I was a little kid, I loved this place.
37:45If they would have had something like this for me to jump on when I was a kid, I'd love this.
37:50I love horses.
37:52I had horses growing up.
37:55The smell of horses just reminds me of love, just love.
38:00Before Big Oil moved in, farming was the primary occupation, and the culture still reflects that.
38:06There are some things that go right back to the beginning and basics, in that there's sheeps and swine, the horses, the critters.
38:15Hi there. Hello.
38:17Well, aren't you a cutie?
38:19Oh, you're just the cutest thing. Yes, you are.
38:23Hello.
38:24All these farm animals have been raised by local children and showcased through the 4-H club.
38:29In addition to winning the coveted Blue Ribbon, the kids hope to find a buyer for their livestock.
38:35These days, most of the buyers are oil companies.
38:38In our community here, we've got all these oil-related companies, and this is how they're showing appreciation and giving back to the community,
38:46is by coming here and purchasing these animals from these kids.
38:50This is my granddaughter, Kinsley.
38:52She'll be the sixth generation of 4-H members in our family.
38:55She has her own sheep already, and someday we expect she'll be selling them here in these sales too.
39:00I don't like the fair, I don't like the carnival, and amusement parks don't really amuse me all that much.
39:11But my kids love them, and it makes them laugh, which always makes me smile.
39:15So I'm going to suffer through it and watch everybody else have a good time.
39:19Is this awesome or what?
39:23I can't believe I paid for this.
39:26Oh, God, are you okay?
39:27I hate the fair.
39:29Are you doing all right?
39:31Yeah, I think I have to touch this floor.
39:34Are you okay?
39:36You're not getting sick, right?
39:38Uh-oh.
39:39We got one going to blow!
39:41Neither one of them are doing well.
39:44I feel like I'm going to throw up now.
39:46We need to get some food.
39:48Well, mommy's not going to go on any more spinny rides.
39:51Sydney has seen booms and busts before.
39:54This boom has increased the town's population by 20% in just three years.
40:00Sandy enjoys extending her Montana hospitality to newcomers.
40:04Oh, I'm Sandy.
40:05Nice to meet you.
40:06So how do you like Sydney?
40:07Love it.
40:08We love it.
40:09Do you?
40:10Yeah.
40:11It's a nice little town.
40:12It really is.
40:13It's great for raising kids.
40:14I was born and raised here.
40:15Are you?
40:16Born and raised?
40:17Full fam's buried out here.
40:18I'm just waiting in line.
40:20Are you retired or do you still work?
40:22I own farms.
40:23Do you have mineral rights to the land?
40:24I have mineral rights.
40:25For the last couple of years, I've been getting some money, but I don't like it.
40:28You don't like it?
40:29No.
40:30Why is it?
40:31I think everybody's here with the whales.
40:32I think they're raping the land.
40:34They're just tearing it apart, doing all this stuff, and then walking away into the sunset.
40:39I like what the oil is doing for the town of Sydney.
40:42Let's put it that way.
40:43But it's everything that comes with it that I don't like.
40:46In the 80s, there was a big boom.
40:48Everybody came up here.
40:49Businesses were built.
40:50And then one night, everybody left.
40:51And it ruined a lot of people.
40:52It really did.
40:53So there's a lot of people that are really gun-shy, from what I understand about it.
40:56And that's exactly what Sandy was saying.
40:57That's the part that she doesn't like.
40:58That we're all here building up her town, and then we're all going to get out all soon.
41:03And that's not happening.
41:04Yeah, that's not how it's going.
41:10Most people come to the Richland County Fair to play.
41:12Sean Banks is here to work.
41:13I'm not a salesman.
41:14I'm a proclaimer of the gospel.
41:15This is a great opportunity to share the gospel because there's so many people around.
41:16Here's the deal.
41:17What's going to happen when you guys die?
41:18Heaven or hell?
41:19I'm going to go with a hole in the ground.
41:20A hole in the ground.
41:21Why do you believe that?
41:22Prove me wrong.
41:23Okay, I'll prove you wrong.
41:24Evangelism happens just like counseling.
41:25You're trying to lovingly show them that Jesus is the only way.
41:31I don't try to convince people intellectually.
41:33You have to repent of your sins to forsake your wicked thoughts and your wicked deeds.
41:34You're going to have to realize that you deserve hell.
41:35You realize that?
41:36The Bible's message is offensive to sinful men.
41:37I don't want to add to the offense, but it doesn't mean that I have to be light on sin.
41:40I have to be heavy on sin so that they can really love Jesus and love them.
41:41You're trying to lovingly show them that Jesus is the only way.
41:44I don't try to convince people intellectually.
41:46You have to repent of your sins to forsake your wicked thoughts and your wicked deeds.
41:52You're going to have to realize that you deserve hell.
41:55You realize that?
41:57The Bible's message is offensive to sinful men.
42:00I don't want to add to the offense, but it doesn't mean that I have to be light on sin.
42:06You're going to be heavy on sin so that they can really love Jesus and love grace.
42:11That's the whole point.
42:18It's been two years since the senior family children learned they were moving from Southern California,
42:23the only home they'd ever known.
42:27When I first heard the news, I was like 14 years old and crying my eyes out.
42:31I was such a little girl about it.
42:32Oh, my gosh.
42:35I like North Dakota, but I didn't really want to move here.
42:40We had four flips in a row.
42:42While his family enjoys the fair, Ray Sr. is spending his evening checking oil wells.
42:47I am away from the family more than I'd like to be, but in return what I'm getting is a larger paycheck,
42:54which is going to pay for their college and whatever their needs may be.
42:59But Ray's career prospects come at a cost to the family he's trying to help.
43:06Our dad isn't that much of a participant inside the family.
43:09With him and his work, he comes home, he's got like a bad attitude because of like working and everything.
43:16Every day is not a good day for him.
43:19I mean, I love my dad.
43:22Every now and then it's kind of just like if you're not going to come home with a good attitude, then don't come home at all.
43:27Also at work are the men at Liberty Oilfield Services.
43:33Their immediate goal is to bring the frack equipment up to speed before the night crew takes over.
43:39We're waiting for another flow cross that we can bolt onto this, which will allow us another 1002 connection for us to tie our iron into.
43:48Time is money, you know, and it's like waiting on Christmas.
43:53After several hours, the missing manifold junction finally arrives.
43:58The only thing really setting us back is time it takes for that grain to move. That's about it. Right there.
44:04They're putting the final touches on that hookup. Each line from the zipper manifold is going to in turn go to each line on the wellhead. All of it's interconnected.
44:13They've managed to keep the schedule. Testing will begin in a matter of minutes.
44:1810 minutes.
44:19Yes, sir. They're just going to move that unit right there and then everything's going to start to go live.
44:23Mr. Lucy, I'm going to borrow your radio real quick, okay? Make sure it feels loose, right?
44:28But when you see the action, you start seeing all these plungers stroking and all these trucks gearing up for all this rate. Oh, man.
44:34It's time to wake up the devil.
44:36All right, fellas. Give me about 1,000, 1,200 RPF solutions.
44:42That's pretty cool. Once you hear these things, they're all going to go through the gears throttle up when we're fracking.
44:57The ground feels vibration. Everything's going to come to life out here. Hell of a lot of noise and a lot of fun.
45:03The night crew will continue testing equipment, and if all goes well, fracking will begin at 7 a.m. tomorrow.
45:20History is happening in the Bakken, and the stakes could not be higher.
45:25Across the region, the boom is creating serious concerns for some.
45:29North Dakota's in the news a lot.
45:32Unfortunately, we're in the news because oil trains explode, pipelines leak, and tank batteries catch on fire.
45:39That's spilled. Your land is done. You can't recover.
45:43And new opportunities for others.
45:46We just went from four welders and four helpers to 16, basically overnight.
45:51For the Boomtowners, it's about risk, rewards, and the pursuit of the American dream.
45:57For the Boomtowners, the
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