Bakken Oil Production to Top 1 Million Barrels Per Day
Bakken oil production is expected to rise yet again, according to a recent report.
The latest monthly update of estimated crude oil production in the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana shows total wellhead output topping 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in December. The update appears in the most recent issue of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Drilling Productivity Report (DPR).
The Bakken region now accounts for a little more than 10 percent of total U.S. oil production and is the fourth region (along with the Gulf of Mexico, Eagle Ford and Permian basins) currently producing more than 1 million bpd in the nation.
Infrastructure improvements in the central part of the country carried more of this oil to refineries in recent months, helping to narrow the price difference between the Bakken region and West Texas Intermediate, which is priced at Cushing, Okla.
The growth of crude oil production in the Bakken region is part of a longer-term trend in drilling efficiency gains and has led North Dakota to rank second in crude oil production in the United States, behind only Texas. These production gains have led to increases in gross domestic product in the state as well as increased demand for electricity.
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