A "pumpjack", the overground part of a piston pump used in oil exploration, stands next to tanks in an arid landscape in North Dakota.
North Dakota is second only to Texas in oil producing states in the US. Oil and shale gas reserves that were until recently uneconomical for large scale production have become highly profitable with new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technologies. The populations of towns like Williston, which lies near some of the biggest reserves in the state, have doubled in size in the space of two years and local services are struggling to keep up. Trailer parks have emerged on the outskirts of towns where oil companies are renting out rooms for between USD 100 to 150 per night, which includes two meals. Accidents have doubled in a year and the crime rate has risen sharply. By 2012, North Dakota had 198 drilling platforms compared to 30 in 2009.