BISMARCK – North Dakota produced 1.163 million barrels of oil a day or 32.5 million barrels of oil in February, according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

The February production showed a 13,000 bbls/day decline from the January production of 1.176 bbls/day or 36.4 bbls that month.

The recent numbers available for the state’s oil and natural gas production were recently released by Nathan Anderson, director of the Mineral Resources Department. Production numbers normally are about two months behind.

The state’s natural gas production dropped 1.63% from January to February. In February, the state produced 3.268 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas and in January, the state produced 3.322 BCF/day.

Anderson cited the colder temperatures as one of the reasons for the decline in production in February.

The report notes that 98% of the state’s oil production is coming from the Bakken/Three Forks formations and 2% from non-Bakken-Three Forks.

According to the report, 30% of North Dakota’s oil production comes from McKenzie County. Dunn, Mountrail, Williams and Divide follow McKenzie as the top five counties, making up 96% of N.D. oil production. Other counties with oil production include Billings, Burke, Bowman, Stark and Bottineau.

As of March, 32 rigs were actively drilling in North Dakota, and 13 frac crews were working in the state.

The total rig count in the U.S. is 569, with 47% of the rigs actively working in Texas.

The number of producing wells was down slightly, likely also due to extreme weather conditions.

Fort Berthold Reservation, according to the report, had a February oil production of 193,278 barrels of oil a day, a slight increase month over month, according to the report. In January, the reservation produced 190,982 barrels of oil a day. The reservation’s rig count was steady at 2. The number of approved drilling permits (128) has remained steady on the reservation month over month. There are 2,998 active wells on the reservation.