North Dakota’s oil production fell 9 percent in December from the previous month, falling back below the 1 million barrel per day mark.
The nation’s second largest oil producing state churned out 942,455 barrels per day, down from 1.03 million barrels per day in November, according to data released Wednesday from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. The state’s all-time production high was in December 2014, when it pumped 1.23 million barrels per day.
The number of drill rigs looking for oil in January stood at 38, down by two from December. The drill rig count continued to be depressed by low oil prices associated with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and a weak world economy, said a monthly report by Lynn Helms, director of the state’s mineral resources department.
The stagnant drill rig count also has been affected by “capital movement to the Permian basin,” the report said. The Permian basin is a large shale-oil reservoir in Texas and southeastern New Mexico that generally has lower production costs than North Dakota’s Bakken fields.
One bright spot for North Dakota in January was that permitting activity for new drilling returned to normal after falling sharply in December.
North Dakota’s natural gas production in December fell 11 percent from November.
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