Oil operators in North Dakota, the third-largest producing state in the U.S., are still bringing some facilities back online after wildfires swept through key oil-producing counties in October, the state’s Industrial Commission said on Wednesday.
The outages are limited to isolated production facilities such as well pads, which experienced either local equipment damage or a loss of electricity due to damaged power lines, according to Justin Kringstad, the director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority.
October output in the state shrank by 520,000 barrels largely due to operators shutting in wells to protect against wildfire damage, said Mark Bohrer, assistant director of the oil and gas division at the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.
“The (fall in production) figure is significant,” said Bohrer.
Production in October fell to 1.178 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.2 million bpd in September, monthly data from the commission showed on Wednesday.
Currently, the state’s rig count is steady on the month, at 37 in December. But this is expected to increase to the mid-40s over the next couple of years, Bohrer added.
There are 14 active hydraulic fracturing crews in North Dakota as of December, down from 16 last month and from 18 in October.
“Winter weather has moved into the region, and we may see some limited impacts on statewide oil production in November and December. However, there have not been any severe winter weather events causing widespread reductions in production so far,” Kringstad said.
Bakken oil delivered at Clearbrook, Minnesota, was pricing at a $1.55 per barrel discount to West Texas Intermediate on Wednesday, according to the regulator. That compares with a 90-cent discount last month.
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston Editing by Matthew Lewis and Diane Craft)