MINOT (AP) - A second oil field services company plans to move into this city's Great Plains Energy Park.

Pumpco Services of Gainesville, Texas, plans to begin construction this summer on a shop, two-story office building and chemical warehouse. It expects to have 56 employees by the end of the year.

Pumpco, which provides pressure pumping in the oil fields, is expanding into North Dakota and selected Minot as its headquarters.

"We looked at a lot of different areas up there," said President Mark Songer, who got his start in the industry in the Dickinson and Williston areas 20 years ago. "We felt that Minot would give the best opportunity to hire people just because of the size of the community."

Pumpco will join Pure Energy Services in the Minot energy park. Pure Energy, a Calgary, Alberta-based company whose services include fracturing and production testing for the oil industry, hopes to bring 80 jobs to the area in three years.

Oil exploration and production in western North Dakota is booming, primarily because of the Bakken shale formation. The government estimates that up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil can be recovered from the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana using current technology.

North Dakota's peak oil production was about 148,000 barrels a day in 1984. The state Department of Mineral Resources expects that record to be surpassed in the next few months.

The city of Williston is planning another big oil conference later this year. The Williston Basin Summit is set for Dec. 9 at the Airport International Inn.

A similar event was held last year to bring together government leaders and key players in oil and gas development to talk about how to make the industry better. It drew 325 people from 10 states.

"It was kind of a group conversation between everybody on … what are the problems and what are the possible solutions," said Tom Rolfstad, Williston's economic development director.

Organizers say this year's conference is especially important because it will be held just before the 2009 Legislature, which starts in January.