North Dakota reported record production in addition to record rig and well counts in March, according to preliminary figures from the Department of Mineral Resources.
Monthly oil production increased 3 percent in March to a record 17,840,177 barrels (or 575,490 barrels per day) and monthly natural gas production also increased by about 3 percent in March to 19.2 billion cubic feet total (or 621 million cubic feet per day).
“Mild weather continued into March resulting in increased hydraulic fracturing activity and increased production. …This trend may not continue into April and May as spring weather brings load restrictions and slows well site construction,” DMR Director Lynn Helms wrote in his monthly “Director’s Cut” report on statewide drilling information.
The DMR reported 214 rigs operating in North Dakota as of May 25 (up from a high of 209 in April) and 6,921 producing wells in March (up from 6,726 in February) with more than 95 percent of the drilling targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations. “The idle well count fell a normal amount for the season leaving an estimated 248 wells now waiting on fracturing services,” Helms wrote. Additionally, the DMR issued 181 drilling permits and one seismic permit to operators in March, up from 168 drilling permits and five seismic permits in February and an all time high of 245 permits in November 2010.
While oil production rose in March, average sweet crude oil prices fell to $76.29 per barrel from $83.26 per barrel in February and a high of $136.29 per barrel on July 3, 2008. Although shallow gas exploration in North Dakota remains “not economic at the current price” of $2.29 per thousand cubic feet for delivery at Watford City, the “high liquids content makes gathering and processing of Bakken gas economic,” Helms wrote.
—Eric Lidji
