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BISMARCK - North Dakota's natural gas production set a new record in June.
Nathan Anderson, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, said natural gas production came in at 3.58 billion cubic feet (BCF) per day and May was 3.52 BCF per day, a 1.59% increase from May.
Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, said natural gas production in June was an all-time high, exceeding a record set in September 2024.
"The June number was a new record for natural gas production in North Dakota. That beats out the September 2024 number so it's been awhile since that record has been broken," Kringstad said.
The new natural gas production record was announced Thursday, Aug. 20, during the monthly oil and gas report.
Anderson said other increases include oil production, drilling rig count, number of completions, number of producing wells and number of operators working in North Dakota.
He said June oil production came in strong at 34.583 million barrels, averaging 1.153 million barrels a day, which is up 2.45% from May and 0.24% above the revenue forecast.
Production numbers are normally about two months behind.
Anderson said there's no material changes in the top five oil producing counties - McKenzie, Williams, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide. He said McKenzie County continues to dominate with 33% of production but noted Divide County production is increasing.
Nationwide, he said, Texas remains the top oil-producing state, followed by New Mexico and North Dakota.
According to Baker Hughes rig data, Anderson said, total U.S. rig count is at 593 and July was at approximately 588.
"We continue to see the increase during this favorable price environment," Anderson said. He said 47% of the rigs are in Texas.
In North Dakota, Anderson said 24 rigs are actively working, according to the Baker Hughes number.
"It is important to note the Baker Hughes number is a monthly average number," Anderson said.
He said 27 total rigs, including three in Montana, are working in the Williston Basin.
Anderson said, according to Department of Mineral Resources data, on July 13, North Dakota had 26 rigs running and on Aug. 19, the state had 33 rigs operating.
"That is a positive change of plus seven on the rig count in the state," he said.
He added that on July 13, there were 14 operators running rigs in North Dakota and on Aug. 19, there were 19 operators.
"So there's several new operators that are adding to the rig count," he said. He said the rig count can vary daily.
Anderson said the permit trend in July was positive with 93 permits issued, along with 85 in June and 93 in May.
"So there's a strong month of permitting in the state," he said.
He said the completion trend also was positive with 74 completions in July, 65 in June and 55 in May.
The total number of producing wells is up 129, month over month, Anderson said. He said the number of producing wells were at an all-time high of 19,961 in June.
On the Fort Berthold Reservation, Anderson said, production is up slightly with 160,651 barrels of oil produced in June, an increase of 1.6% or 2,507 barrels of oil. One rig was working on the reservation. The total number of active permits was 132, an increase from last month, and 3,040 wells were active.
The statewide gas flared volume from May to June decreased by 4.7 million cubic feet per day ((MMCF/D) to 162.5MMCF/D. The statewide gas capture increased to about 95.5% while Bakken gas capture increased to 95.7%, according to the report.