Oil was first discovered within the Bakken Shale in 1951, but efforts to produce it have historically met with difficulties. An April 2008 USGS report estimated the amount of recoverable oil within the Bakken Formation at 3 to 4.3 billion barrels. The state of North Dakota also released a report that same month which estimated 2.1 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken. The Bakken Shale covers an area that includes Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewa, Canada.

Reef also operates in British Columbia, Canada, offering chemicals and environmental remediation services to mining customers.