BISMARCK, N.D., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- North Dakota Industrial Commission Director Lynn Helms said delivery of crude oil from the state should be "adequate" as long as rail deliveries continue.
"Crude oil take away capacity is expected to be adequate as long as rail deliveries to coastal refineries keep growing," he said in his so-called director's cut, published Friday.
Pipelines aren't enough to keep up with North Dakota oil production. The Association of American Railroads says crude oil delivery by rail has increased steadily in the past year.
The NDIC said Friday there was 931,940 barrels of oil produced per day on average in September, a "new all-time high" for the state.
Helms said more than 95 percent of the drilling activity in the state targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations, two of North Dakota's most promising oil fields.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's analytical arm, said Friday it estimated oil production from the Bakken reserve area will top 1 million bpd in December.
Bakken, spread out over western North Dakota, accounts for about 10 percent of total U.S. oil production, the EIA said.
