North Dakota oil boom: thousands pin their dreams on striking it rich

Guardian: It's a life measured out in 18-hour shifts and washed down with 5-hour Energy Drinks and Red Bull, a job on the rigs in North Dakota's oil boom: three weeks on, two weeks off, in exchange for $100,000 or more a year and the promise of being set up for life. In an America where 18m are out of work, the chance of finding any job – let alone a well-paid job – exerts an irresistible force that is drawing thousands to North Dakota in a 21st century re-enactment of the Gold Rush. Only this time,...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/14/north-dakota-oil-boom-rich
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2012/5/10/1336638422761/Traffic-generated-by-an-o-008.jpg