BISMARCK, N.D., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- North Dakota reported Monday that 68 oil rigs are involved in exploration and production in the state, the same figure as last week.
Despite the recent stability, the number is down from 190 active drilling rigs on the same date in 2014, when crude oil prices were about 42 percent higher. The count serves as an indicator of the health of the energy sector in North Dakota, the No. 2 oil producing state.
North Dakota oil production peaked in December 2014 and has fallen every month since, the state's Department of Mineral Resources reported last week. World oil prices fell to a six-year low in August, the International Energy Agency reported.
The price of North Dakota oil, which sells at a discount to the benchmark crude, fell nearly $10 per barrel during the summer but has recovered to about $35 per barrel, according to state data obtained from the Flint Hills Refinery in Rosemount, S.D.
"Production is down, and significantly down," noted Lynn Helms of the Department of Mineral Resources, adding the decline in August, historically a time for an increase, "is definitely not normal. This is a reflection of what is happening in the industry."
Two North Dakota operators, Samson Resources and American Eagle Energy, filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
