Sex and the Oil City
Sex crime and drugs: The dark side of North Dakota’s oil boom
In 2006, the Parshall Oil Field was discovered in North Dakota, and oil companies joined a frenzied rush to extract the black gold. Thousands of oil workers moved in to take high paying jobs in the industry. Unusually high incomes, boredom, long working hours in a mostly male environment combine to create the perfect marketplace for traffickers selling sex and drugs. Incidents of road death and domestic violence have risen dramatically.