Eloise Ogden/MDN North Dakota produced 1.107 million barrels of oil a day in August, a new oil production number from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

BISMARCK – The state produced 1.107 million barrels of oil a day in August, according to new numbers released on Wednesday by the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

The month prior North Dakota produced 1.076 million barrels of oil a day. The numbers are normally about two months behind.

On Wednesday, the price of North Dakota light sweet crude oil was $73.75 and West Texas Intermediate was $80.52.

The state’s natural gas production in August was 91,774,175 MCF or 2,960,457 MCF a day – higher than in July when the state produced 89,261,659 MCF or 2,879,408 MCF a day. The gas capture percentage in August was 92%.

Thirty rigs were actively drilling in the state on Wednesday.

The state had a preliminary high number of 16,953 producing wells in August. That month and also in July, 521 wells were waiting on completion.

Fort Berthold Reservation produced 253,291 barrels of oil a day in August. Three rigs were actively drilling on the reservation and 2,598 wells were active.

Lynn Helms, director of the Mineral Resources Department, said drilling rig count fell 51% from January 2020 to August 2021 and is slowly increasing.

He said the number of well completions has been low and volatile since April 2020 as the number of active completion crews dropped from 25 to one, then increased to six in July 2021 and to 10 this week.

According to Helms, OPEC+ reached a deal Sunday to phase out 5.8 million barrels per day of oil production cuts by September 2022 as prices of the commodity hit their highest levels in more than two years. Coordinated increases in oil supply from the group known as OPEC+ began in August. At its Oct. 4 meeting, OPEC+ decided to stick with its plan to increase production 400,000 barrels per day on a monthly basis going forward, Helms said.

“International Energy Agency estimates a 1.5 million barrel per day shortfall for the second half of this year, indicating a tight market despite the gradual OPEC supply boost,” Helms said. He said the agency now estimates that supply and demand are balanced, with demand returning to 2019 levels in the second quarter 2022.