Q: The American Express advertisements in newspapers and magazines show a beautiful pedestrian bridge in a wooded area. Can you tell me where this picture was taken? -- Killian Smith, Decatur
A: It is Kintai Bridge in Iwakuni City, Japan, an American Express representative told Q&A on the News in an e-mail.
Q: What is the status of our tapping into the vast oil field discovered in 1951 in North Dakota? -- Jack M. Reid, Acworth
A: Amerada Corp.'s well struck oil on April 4, 1951, on a wheat farm in northwestern North Dakota. The oil patch has produced about 1.85 billion barrels of oil, according to The Associated Press. The AP reported that North Dakota records show at least twice the amount that has been produced remains untapped in the Bakken shale formation, which is in North Dakota and Montana, and the Three Forks formation below it. The AP reported that Bakken production of crude oil had been 13 million barrels until 2004 but has jumped to 191 million barrels since then. "The Bakken shale has been the biggest producer of crude in recent years, due to advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques," according to the AP story. The AP wrote that the U.S. Geological Survey in 2008 estimated that current technology could recover up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil from the Bakken in North Dakota, which is the nation's No. 4 oil-producing state, and Montana. About 2,000 of North Dakota's 5,300 productive oil wells have come on line in the past three years, aimed at the Bakken and Three Forks, the AP reported.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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