Shares of Bakken Producers Drop on Safety Warning

Shares of Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:WLL), Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) and other crude oil producers in the Bakken shale formation lost ground Thursday after the U.S. government said oil produced from the region may be extra flammable, according to Reuters.

As quoted in the market news:

Oil extracted from the Bakken, a vast rock formation underneath North Dakota and Montana, “may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil,” the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said on Thursday.

The warning came three days after a BNSF train carrying crude oil collided in eastern North Dakota with another train carrying grain. The resulting explosion led to the temporary evacuation of a nearby town and added to the growing concern about the safety of oil-by-rail shipments.

Read the full Reuters story