Senate Energy Chair Visit Oilfield

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The chairman of the U.S. Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee is touring the western North Dakota oil patch.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is being hosted by North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven on Friday and Saturday. Hoeven says Wyden will meet with community leaders and energy workers to get a firsthand look at the development and the region's infrastructure needs.

North Dakota in recent years has become the second-largest oil and gas producing state in the nation. Wyden calls the boom in the Bakken oil fields "historic" and says it's "rewriting the playbook for American energy." He says he wants to see it for himself.