BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota has overtaken California as the third-largest oil-producing state in the nation.
Production totals released Thursday by both states show North Dakota pumped 16.9 million barrels of oil in January, compared with California’s 15.8 million barrels. North Dakota had a daily average of 546,000 barrels, besting California by more than 36,000 barrels.
Oil production data typically lags at least two months.
A record 152.9 million barrels of crude was produced in North Dakota last year, up almost 40 million more barrels than the previous record set a year earlier, the state Industrial Commission said.
North Dakota’s January oil production was up 11,000 barrels from December. California’s January total slipped about 900,000 for the month, and nearly 37,000 barrels daily, records show.
North Dakota had a record 6,600 wells producing in January, up about 200 from the previous month. California had more than 49,000 active wells, records show.
A record 205 rigs were drilling in North Dakota’s oil patch on Thursday.
Bill Winkler, an engineering and research manager with California’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, said it was no surprise his state was surpassed by North Dakota in oil production.
“North Dakota has been on the upsweep and we’ve been on the decline for quite a while,” Winkler said. “With all the new production and drilling happening there, it was expected.”
North Dakota’s oil production has increased exponentially in the past decade with improved horizontal drilling techniques in the rich Bakken shale and Three Forks formations in the western part of the state.
Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said production milestones will continue, “if North Dakota keeps encouraging a positive business climate.”
North Dakota was the ninth-largest oil-producing state in 2006, and surpassed Louisiana in 2009 to take the No. 4 spot.
Alaska, the nation’s No. 2 oil producer behind Texas, pumped 18.3 million barrels in January, with a daily average of about 592,000 barrels, said Steve McMains, a statistician with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
North Dakota officials have estimated the state could surpass Alaska within a year as the nation’s No. 2 oil producer.
McMains said Alaska’s annual oil production has dropped from 249.8 million in 2008 to 204.8 million last year. He said the state is on pace to produce fewer than 200 million barrels this year.
“Things are slow up here and people are going down there to North Dakota to find work,” he said.
Texas produced just more than 1 million barrels daily in December and 32.4 million barrels for the month, the most recent production numbers from that state show.
“Texas is probably out of reach,” said Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. “We’ll be very happy to settle in at No. 2 for a decade or two.”
Steven Grape, a U.S. Energy Department petroleum engineer, said domestic daily crude production averaged 5.67 million barrels in 2011, up from 5.47 the year before.
Domestic crude production had dropped each year between 1991 and 2008, Grape said. The bump in total production is partly attributed to North Dakota’s booming oil patch, he said.
“Absolutely it has helped,” Grape said.
Comments (10)
Add commentThe Age of Oil
All of this oil we're pumping and consuming is just a blip in time. In 50 years, probably less, our children will be living in a very different world - one that isn't powered by oil.
I wonder what we'll be using then?
Uranium.
Don't think for a minute that ND has more oil developed than Alaska. The key word here is "throttling". A technique used by cruise lines, phone companies, oil companies, etc. Mom used to threaten to throttle us kids if we didn't get in line. Basicly, that meant to choke us. She never did, but, we knew it was time to toe the mark or face the treeswitch. These industries use the same tactics. Put a choke hold on us and threaten us. Meanwhile they offer other areas #2 spot. Or #1. So, Alaska, toe the line or bend over and grab your ankles.
North Dakota
I just returned from North Dakota where I grew up. I went to visit my brother and sister. All is not a beautiful wonderland in that State because of oil. When one reads the local newspapers, talks with folks who live there, the story is quite different from what the national media and oil industry describe.
Our State Senate seems to be on the right track towards revising current tax laws and planning for the future.
NewLife
Please move back.
Dear NewLife
You must have never worked in a "right to work state" because if you had you wouldn't support it. Right to work basically [filtered word] on minimum wage. A waiter or waitress in a right to work state can be paid $2 an hour. This is justified by the fact they get tips which is bogus for anyone that waits tables at a typical diner or restaurant which I guarantee you is all ND has. Oh, and talking down on unions is also proof that your hands are probably Charmin Ultra Soft because there is no way you have ever worked a day of hard labor in your life. My father worked his whole life in the IBEW without even a GED and made great money and the pride that comes with being able to have a trade and provide for his family. If it wasn't for a union he would have barely had enough money to feed himself; which I'm sure you would prefer because it probably would mean more money in your pocket.
right to work = right to get fired for no reason
I've always been amused at the term "right to work state."
That just means, any employer can fire you at will for any reason or no reason.
Thank God unions are here to protect the American worker from such idiocy.
As for ND, Alaska is still #2, and we have the largest oil fields in North America.
And, we're making money drilling it.
So, leave ACES alone.
@NewLife
I see you're trying to make new friends to go with your new life. How's that workin for ya?
BTW, I'm curious, how would one go about removing unions from a gene pool.
Must be some of that NewLife science....you wouldn't happen to be a Parnell advocate would you?