File Photo North Dakota has a new all-time high in producing wells according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

BISMARCK – North Dakota had a new all-time high of 19,079 (preliminary number) producing wells in May. In April, the state had 18,972 producing wells.

Mark Bohrer, assistant director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, released the most recent oil and natural gas production numbers this week. The latest numbers are normally about two months behind.

North Dakota produced 1.195 million barrels of oil a day in May. In April, the state produced 1.243 million barrels of oil a day.

Bohrer said the decline in the number of barrels of oil a day (down about 3.9%) was likely due to the road restrictions in place in May and lower than expected completion numbers.

He said the crude oil price remains strong and virtually unchanged.

On Tuesday, the price of crude oil was $76.25 a barrel for North Dakota Light Sweet and $80.62 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate.

The natural gas production was up .5% with the state producing 3,507,677 MCF a day of natural gas in May. In April, the state produced 3,490,476 MCF a day.

Bohrer said the rig count “has been steady and that’s good news.” As of Tuesday, 39 rigs were actively drilling in North Dakota.

In May, 339 wells were waiting on completion.

Sixty-seven wells were completed in May and 55 wells (preliminary number) in June. Bohrer said they feel that’s lower than what they like to see. They would like to be in the 90-100 range to achieve production growth.

He said production on the Fort Berthold Reservation also was down about 5.6% and was in line with the decline in the rest of the state.

The reservation produced 191,802 barrels of oil a day in May. Two rigs were actively drilling on the reservation, and the reservation has 2,934 active wells. Twenty wells were waiting on completion. There were 106 approved drilling permits.

There are 14 frac crews currently active in North Dakota.

The drilling rig count remains low due to mergers and acquisitions but is expected to return to the mid-40s with a gradual increase expected over the next two years, according to Bohrer.

Bohrer said drilling activity is expected to increase slightly and operators continue to maintain a permit inventory of about 12 months.