A Great Divide Over Oil Riches in North Dakota

Just like everybody else around here, Fred Evans spent his life coaxing a good enough living out of the earth. He grew wheat, ran cattle and, during a couple of short-lived bursts of activity, worked on the drill rigs searching for oil across the northern prairie.

But unlike his neighbors, Mr. Evans was convinced that the area would someday be home to an epic oil boom. For years he would approach others in the area offering to buy or lease the rights to drill on their land, often delivering his pitch at a time of need. More than a few, to their enduring regret, agreed.

By A. G. SULZBERGER

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/us/in-north-dakota-a-great-divide-over-oil-riches.html?_r=1&hp