North Dakota breaks state record for oil production

BISMARCK, N.D., May 14 (UPI) -- Preliminary data from March show oil production in North Dakota has reached a new all-time high, the state's Department of Natural Resources said.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission, a division within state's DNR, said March average oil production of 977,051 barrels per day was 2.6 percent higher than for February and an all-time high for the state.

The commission said 94 percent of the production came from the Bakken and Three Forks area of the state.

NDIC Director Lynn Helms said the number of wells completed from February to March was "up sharply," though the weather in the state was still having an impact on production. March, he said, began with a few days with temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit and there was at least a week when wind speeds were too high for work.

At the end of the month, he added, 8 inches of snow fell on the state.

"In like a lion and out like a lion makes oil and gas work difficult," he said in a statement Tuesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a drilling productivity report this week that production levels in the Bakken formation should reach 1.07 million bpd by June.