North Dakota crude oil production

North Dakota, the second largest oil producing state in the US, is expecting a surge in oil production over the summer due to fair weather.

Output has already risen 3.6% in May, to 1.04 million bpd. This is the largest increase since last August.

Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, has suggested that better weather over the summer period will instigate a rise in production in the region of 5 – 6%. “We still expect a big surge to come in June, July and August in terms of completions and some really rapid production increases”, Helms said.

However, production decreases are likely to set in as autumn rolls around.  New limits on flaring natural gas in the state may lead producers to curtail as much as 50 000 bpd of oil production beginning in October.

North Dakota drillers are required to capture 74% of the natural gas they produce by 1 October. Recent data for May suggests that companies are currently flaring approximately 28%.

Helms has suggested that producers are unlikely to meet the 1 October deadline for compliance in regards to flaring reduction without additional well site technology or production curtailment.

Euro Asia Group estimates that only 1.5% of the state’s production will be at risk from the regulations. According to them, infrastructure development and technological applications are likely to minimize the risks to oil production.

Edited from various sources by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/15072014/north_dakota_production_930/