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Energy production meets all-time highs

North Dakota’s oil and gas production has hit new all-time high records, according to preliminary figures.

In December, oil production reached 1.4 million barrels a day. The state also produced 2.65 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas.

The most recent numbers were released on Friday by the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Currently, North Dakota has 15,351 producing wells. The all-time high was 15,352 producing wells in October 2018.

The number of drilling permits surged from December to January, according to Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources. Last month the state issued 219 drilling permits. In December 2018, there were 92 drilling permits issued and in November 2018, 116 drilling permits issued. The all-time high was 370 on Oct. 20, 2012.

On Friday, North Dakota Light Sweet was at $45.75 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $54.41 a barrel.

Also on Friday, 65 rigs were actively drilling in the North Dakota oil patch. The number of rigs drilling on federal surface in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands has increased to four. On the Fort Berthold Reservation there are 10 drilling rigs actively working. The reservation is producing 293,947 barrels of oil per day from 2,046 wells. Fifty-three wells are waiting on completion and 427 permits have been approved for drilling there.

Helms said current operator plans are to add one to five rigs in 2019 in the state, depending on workforce and infrastructure constraints.

We need to accept oil and gas gains will never be as they were before and accept they will change as the market changes

Only then will we respect the changes.

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