ABSTRACT
Oil is the God of Modernity. Fossil fuels appear as solids, liquids, and natural gas. Home to an estimated 7.4 billion barrels of crude oil, the Bakken Formation in North Dakota is the largest oil deposit in the lower 48 states. The Bakken petro-juice is charmingly termed "light sweet crude." Light for its weight; it will float on water. Sweet for its low sulphur content, crude with higher sulphur is called sour. Light sweet is the most desirable form of crude oil as its transition to high quality fuel is comparatively inexpensive and easy. The light sweet being squeezed out of the Bakken shale is money, honey. In April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, oil demand plummeted and prices hit red, rendering millions of barrels of Bakken crude worthless. Overall, crude production from the Bakken is slowing.
