Six projects affecting oil production and carbon dioxide storage will get almost $1.7 million in state aid from a fund that is financed by a portion of North Dakota's oil tax collections.

Two research projects, which are receiving almost $1 million in grants, will explore methods of "fracturing" rock in western North Dakota's Bakken shale formation to increase its oil production, state officials said.

Marathon Oil Corp., of Houston, is getting $207,500 in research aid, while Headington Oil Co., of Dallas, is getting $750,000. Headington is leading a group that includes Continental Resources Inc. of Enid, Okla.; Hess Corp. of New York City; and Schlumberger Oilfield Services, a unit of Schlumberger Ltd. of Houston.

"There's any number of different rock types in the Williston basin, and … there's going to be many different attempts at trying to find the most optimum way to produce the formation, and fine-tune all of these technologies," said Dave Fischer, a technical adviser to the state's Oil and Gas Research Council.

The Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota is getting $500,000 during the next two years as part of ongoing research into how to capture and store carbon dioxide gas, a byproduct of some energy production that is blamed for global warming.

Other grants are going to Ward Williston Oil Co. of Westhope to construct a portable trailer to measure oilfield production; the University of North Dakota, for development of a laboratory for testing rock strength; and the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties.

The association plans to update an oil industry information pamphlet and host six public forums in western North Dakota. The forums will be scheduled in February in Bowman, Watford City, Killdeer, Tioga, Stanley and New Town, to answer questions and hear complaints about industry activity.

"This is going to be a big, concentrated effort," said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. "We're going to advertise in these communities and really make it a splash, that we're coming out to listen to them and talk to them."

North Dakota's Industrial Commission approved the grants Wednesday. The commission controls expenditures from a state oil and gas research fund, which is financed by a share of state oil tax collections.

The commission's members are Gov. John Hoeven, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson.