Brigham Exploration has aquired approximately 46,000 net acres in the Bakken play of North Dakota, significantly increasing its acreage position in non-conventional oil and gas plays.

A company spokesperson was quoted by the news agency as saying: "ExxonMobil is exploring market interest for select assets in the Bakken Shale Play ... of conventional oil assets in the Permian ...

The Bakken crude has made North Dakota the U.S.'s second-largest oil-producing state, after Texas, and helped boost U.S. oil production to its highest level since 1988. Next year, the U.S. might ...