North Dakota’s Oil Output Is Expected to Climb This Year

North Dakota oil companies are likely to increase their production modestly this year, the director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, Lynn Helms said this week, citing industry executives.

According to these, production should grow by between 10,000 barrels daily and 30,000 bpd, local media reported.

“We should see one more drilling rig, maybe two more drilling rigs, in 2024. Somewhere between 10,000, 15,000, maybe twice that much in terms of oil production, so we should hit that 1.3 million barrel a day number,” Helms said.

In December, North Dakota’s daily average output stood at 1.27 million bpd, the report said.

“The Bakken is far from over. In fact, it continues to lead the way with a lot of these technology developments that we share with our friends in Texas and New Mexico,” the Department of Mineral Resources director also said.

The official, however, shared a deep concern about the prospects of the North Dakota oil industry in case of a second presidential term for the Democrats.

The Energy Information Administration estimated the Bakken’s output at 1.203 million barrels daily for February, rising to 1.206 million barrels in March. That would make it the play with the third-strongest growth rate, after the Permian and the Eagle Ford, where production between February and March is seen rising by 10,000 bpd and 5,000 bpd, respectively.

Oil production in the Bakken is set to benefit from Chevron’s recent acquisition of Hess Corp. The deal will give Chevron 465,000 net acres of high-quality, long-duration inventory in the Bakken supported by the integrated assets of Hess Midstream, Chevron said when it announced the tie-up last year.

Thanks to the shale play, North Dakota was the second-largest oil-producing state in the United States between 2012 and 2020, right after Texas, before it got surpassed by New Mexico thanks to the part of the Permian it hosts.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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