North Dakota oil hub defiantly boasts it is 'last great place' for growth

WILLISTON, N.D. - With oil prices falling, you wouldn't think Williston,North Dakota, was "the last great place for opportunity," but that is the slogan the state's oil hub has come up with to try to shake off its economic downturn.

Those lured by that promise will find apartment rents have begun to plunge in Willistonafter a 50 percent fall in the price of oil caused hundreds of layoffs and put off job seekers in search of the town's legendary six-figure pay packets.

In a state which expects six percent growth this year, largely on agriculture, Williston is trying to convince outsiders it has staying power and won't end up as another has-been boom town.

"We've moved from a boom economy to a more-steady business model," said Shawn Wenko, head of the local economic development office.

Steady growth could prove sobering to Williston, whose population has more than doubled to 30,000 in the past five years to service 12,700 oil wells that extract more than 1.2 million barrels of crude each day.

Savage Services Corp, one of the largest facilities in North Dakota that loads oil onto railcars, and Halliburton Co, are among the companies that have laid off hundreds in the town in response to the oil price decline.

Worse could be ahead as Wall Street analysts forecast further drops in crude later this year.

Williston is not the only oil hub to engage in boosterism in the face of the gloom: Houston, traditionally seen as the U.S. energy capital, is now marketing itself as "The City With No Limits." Previous slogans - including "It's Hot!" - failed.

For now, Williston's average annual wage tops $80,000 compared with a national average of $72,000, and there are 1,700 open jobs - many tied to construction projects years in the making. Starting pay at Williston's Walmart has stood at $17 per hour for the past year, more than double the $7.25 per hour minimum wage in North Dakota, which has the second lowest unemployment rate in the United States.

"Some investment decisions may be put on hold," said Scott Meske, president of theGreater Williston Chamber of Commerce. "But I can tell you: economic activity involves more than just the price of oil."