OKLAHOMA CITY, April 29 (UPI) -- Getting the billionth barrel of oil from the Bakken reserve area in the Northern Plains is cause for celebration, Continental Resources said.
Continental Resources Inc. is the largest stakeholder in North Dakota oil fields. Jack Stark, the company's vice president in charge of exploration, said cumulative oil production from the Bakken reserve reached the 1 billion barrel mark at some point during the first quarter.
"Two-thirds of this oil was produced in the last three years," he said in a statement Monday. "This is something our country can celebrate as the oil and natural gas industry continues to create jobs, grow our economy and secure America's energy future."
Continental is the largest producer, driller and leaseholder in the Bakken field, which it says may be the largest oil field discovered in the world in more than 40 years.
The North Dakota Industrial Commission said 951,340 barrels of oil per day were produced in the state in February, the last full month for which data are available. Nearly all of that volume came from the Bakken area.
