Reflecting just how badly the oil and gas downturn has hit some states, North Dakota’s oil production in August fell below 1 million barrels a day.
The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources says that’s well below the record 1.22 million barrels a day set in December 2014. The record was set just as the downturn got underway.
The August production totaled an average of 981,039 barrels, down from the 1.029 million barrels in July.
As far as natural gas is concerned, North Dakota’s production was 1.64 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day in August, again a decline from July when gas production totaled 1.69 billion cubic feet.
Another sign indicating the extent of the downturn….North Dakota had only 33 oil drilling rigs in operation, a decline of 85 percent from a high of 218 in May 2012.