Plaza man publishes children’s book about oil and gas industry

PLAZA, N.D. - The oil and gas industry plays a big role in North Dakota’s economy, but is still an industry many people don’t totally understand.

A Plaza man hopes his new book can help teach people of all ages just how important energy is to our state.

This is a moment Lucas Wurtz has been dreaming about for quite a while. He’s not just reading a book to his son, Ferguson, he’s reading a book he wrote, about an industry he’s proud to be a part of.

Wurtz is a facility specialist for Marathon Oil Corporation and a lifelong North Dakotan.

“I grew up here. We are very environmentally conscious. If anybody wants this place to be safe if anybody wants to have clean air and drinkable water, it’s people like me that are from here,” he said.

This book was an idea Wurtz tossed around for about six months. Now that it’s published and available to purchase, he hopes the story of “Oscar the Little Pumper” can shed some light on the importance of the oil and gas industry.

“I just thought maybe this would bring a little bit of awareness to the kids and maybe even the parents when they’re reading the book to their kids,” Wurtz said. “While I think renewable stuff is awesome like wind turbines and all that there’s just, there’s no replacement for petroleum products like plastic. And I just think it’s a lot of things that people just take for granted and they don’t really think about.”

He hopes his book will get people of all ages thinking about those products, where they come from, and the people whose livelihoods depend on them.

You can purchase “Oscar the Little Pumper” on Amazon.

Wurtz hopes to have it available in bookstores soon. He’s also working on ideas for more books in the future.

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