North Dakota's daily oil production in July reached a new record high of 423,550 barrels a day from 5,756 oil wells, an increase of 40,000 barrels a day over June. Daily natural gas production reached an all time high of 427,446 MCF per day, according to the Oil Patch Hotline.
If the current rate of increase continues, the state could surpass California, which now produces 540,000 barrels a day as the third largest oil producing state in the US, according to Lynn Helms, director of the ND Department of Mineral Resources. In the next two years, there could be at least 10,000 wells producing as much as 700,000 barrels a day, said ND Governor Jack Dalrymple.
Helms said that as much as $220 billion could be invested in North Dakota over the next 17 years to drill 33,000 wells. "There has been absolutely no slowdown; in fact, there has been acceleration on the part of the oil and gas industry in preparation for the next years.
The Big Sky Business Journal
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