Ryan Zinke has raked in $85,800 from the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference sponsors, their executives, parent companies, and affiliated PACs.

Ryan Zinke raked in $23,400 from Halliburton, his fifth-largest donor, which donated at least $20,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [Rep. Ryan K Zinke Contributors, Open Secrets, accessed 05/21/18 and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

Ryan Zinke raked in $46,800 from Oasis Petroleum, his second-largest donor, which donated at least $20,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [Rep. Ryan K Zinke Contributors, Open Secrets, accessed 05/21/18 and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

In 2015, Ryan Zinke accepted $1,000 from Caterpillar Oil & Gas’s parent company’s PAC. Caterpillar Oil & Gas donated at least $20,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [2015-2016 reporting period search, FEC, Caterpillar Inc. PAC and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

ConocoPhillips started donating to Ryan Zinke when he first ran for higher office in 2008, and has given him a total of $5,100. ConocoPhillips donated at least $20,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [National Institute for Money in Politics search for Ryan Zinke, accessed 05/21/18 and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

In 2014, Ryan Zinke accepted $1,000 from Continental Resources, which donated at least $20,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [National Institute for Money in Politics search for Ryan Zinke, accessed 05/21/18 and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

Since 2014, Ryan Zinke has accepted $4,500 from the Marathon Oil Company employee PAC. Marathon Oil Company has donated at least $15,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference [2013-2014 reporting period and 2015-2016 reporting period, FEC search, Marathon Oil Company and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

Since 2014, Ryan Zinke has accepted $4,000 from the Whiting Petroleum Corporation PAC, which has donated at least $15,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [2013-2014 reporting period and 2015-2016 reporting period, FEC search, Whiting Petroleum Corporation and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

Five of the nine biggest financial sponsors of the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference have given Ryan Zinke tens of thousands of dollars.

The nine biggest sponsors of the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference are: Halliburton, LIUNA North Dakota, Oasis Petroleum, XTO Energy, Bismarck-Mandan Convention & Visitors Bureau, Caterpillar Oil & Gas, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, and the Williston Regional Economic Development. Ryan Zinke taken in tens of thousands in campaign contributions from Halliburton, Oasis Petroleum, Caterpillar Oil & Gas’s parent company Caterpillar, ConocoPhillips, and Continental Resources. [Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18 and National Institute on Money in Politics search for Ryan Zinke, accessed 05/21/18]

Ryan Zinke has especially strong financial ties to Bakken Now Plus sponsor Oasis Petroleum, his second-biggest corporate donor. In addition to Taylor Reid, the President and COO of Oasis Petroleum, being his “top individual donor,” and Zinke even once bragged that his “first donor” was Oasis Petroleum executive Thomas Nusz, who, combined with his wife, and then-college-aged children, has handed Zinke $29,000 in campaign contributions.

“Zinke’s top individual campaign donor is Taylor Reid, president and chief operating officer of a Texas-based oil and gas company that drills in the Bakken oil field. Reid, who has been with Oasis Petroleum since its founding in 2007, donated $11,600 to Zinke’s election efforts between 2013 and 2016, an analysis of Federal Election Commission data shows.” [Brittany Patterson, “Zinke donors include oil and gas firms using public land,” E & E News, 01/13/17]

Since 2013, Ryan Zinke has raked $29,000, in eleven max donations, from Thomas Nusz, the Chairman and CEO of Oasis Petroleum, as well as Nusz’ wife, and then-college-aged children. Oasis Petroleum donated at least $20,000 to fund the 2018 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. [CQ Political Moneyline search for Nusz donations to Zinke, accessed 05/21/18; Bloomberg profile for Oasis Petroleum, accessed 05/21/18; Amy Cagle, “Texas couple loyally supports Mississippi State with $12.3 million gift,” Mississippi State University, 12/09/13; and Sponsorship page, Bakken Now, accessed 05/21/18]

In a Daily Inter Lake article from 2014, Ryan Zinke bragged that his “first donor” was then-Oasis Petroleum-COO Thomas Nusz. [Lynnette Hintze, “Zinke Marches Ahead for GOP,” Daily Inter Lake, 06/05/14]