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Page added on July 15, 2013
North Dakota oil output tops 800,000 bpd
Oil production in North Dakota topped 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the first time ever in May, preliminary data from the state regulator showed on Monday, as the number of rigs pumping crude in the state hit an all-time peak.
The state’s Mineral Resources Department said output in May was up 2 per cent – or 16,277 bpd – hitting a record 810,129 bpd even as record rainfall for the month impeded new drilling.
Oil production in North Dakota has soared fivefold since 2008 as developments in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – commonly referred to as “fracking” – have allowed producers to tap the giant Bakken shale formation, transforming the state into the second-largest oil producer after Texas.
There are now a record 8,915 producing wells in North Dakota, the Mineral Resources Department said, though the number of rigs drilling new wells in May increased by only one from April to 187, which was down 14 per cent from the record level of 218 in the same month last year.
Well completions, whereby wells undergo hydraulic fracturing and are made ready to pump oil, rose by 10 in the month to 143.
“That number of completions is above the threshold needed to maintain production, so [the] oil production rate rose,” the department said in a statement.
“Load restrictions have remained in place longer than ever before because May, 2013, was the wettest on record.”
The department said in April it expected production to accelerate only after May as rough weather and road restrictions in the months before limited activity. The state forecasts production of 850,000 bpd by early 2014.
12 Comments on "North Dakota oil output tops 800,000 bpd"
dave thompson on Mon, 15th Jul 2013 10:58 pm
Doing the math that is about 90 bpd per well.
TIKIMAN on Mon, 15th Jul 2013 11:12 pm
Lol 90 BPD is dismal. Of course when you have almost 9,000 of them… It’s still shitty.
eastbay on Mon, 15th Jul 2013 11:28 pm
And it’s a whopping 4.5% of what the USA burns each day and .9% of what humanity burns each day. As conventional production moves into terminal decline and demand increases we’re gonne need a whole lot more lovely frac lands such as the Bakken just to keep running in place.
Plantagenet on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 12:29 am
In the absence of a coherent energy policy from the Obama administration, the US is lucky the state of North Dakota is there.
rollin on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 12:41 am
Not the streaking comet of production that was predicted for N.D.. Production seems to be leveling off. How will they ever reach that 2 mbpd mark?
Nice info though on the needed number of completed wells.
Arthur on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 8:38 am
Playing the devils advocate here but there is rumour that Australia could be the next Saudi-Arabia:
http://deepresource.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/20-trillion-worth-of-shale-in-australia/
And what more will be found? The more you look, the more you find. It looks like the hunt for shale has just begun. It probably makes more sense to join a climate change or overpopulation forum than a peakoil forum. More oil means more globalisation, more immigration. ((
It becomes more obvious by the day why TheOilDrum closed shop.
foxv on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 2:56 pm
Have you looked at the logistic involved in getting to that oil in Australia. Middle of nowhere, crazy heat, and all for wells that pump 90bpd at best!?
How much does it cost to drill and maintane a well anyways. What is the profit margin on these puppies?
This desperation is the signs of the end of oil, not a new renaissance.
we are now seeing our last last heyday to prepare for a very different future.
Arthur on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 3:15 pm
They do have winters in Australia, I assume?
It is too early to jump to conclusions regarding Australia, but I am convinced that there is shale potential a la Bakken all over the planet.
mo on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 9:04 pm
Seems like Arthur wants to keep pumping an burning till we fry the planet
MrColdWaterOfRealityMan on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 9:44 pm
Arthur,
Math please. 233 billion barrels of oil, even if it were all really there, extends the world’s oil supply by about 7.7 to 8 years at current consumption rates. I hope it’s there, and accessible at an affordable price with a net energy that isn’t a joke. It’s no panacea, however.
Arthur on Tue, 16th Jul 2013 10:03 pm
mo, I just follow developments, it is not up to me to ‘want’ something… all I *hope* for is a supply of oil that is large enough to prevent a global collapse, but small enough to keep fossil prices high enough to push the world into renewables via the price mechanism.
shortonoil on Wed, 17th Jul 2013 6:53 pm
800,000 bpd? That’s 240,000 barrels of crude oil and 560,000 barrels of condensate. Condensate lacks the C7+ molecules needed to produce distillates, which means it can be used to produce ISO-butane (and a few other additives) and can be used as a diluent for Canadian bitumen (makes a good thinner). Of course if one happens to need transportation fuels, well, your sort of out of luck. It does, however, make hellish hot train fires!