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ND Oil production dips slightly in December

Dave Thompson
/
Prairie Public

Daily oil production in North Dakota dropped slightly in December, compared with November.

"We saw a 1.4 percent drop," said state Mineral Resources director Lynn Helms at his monthly "Director's Cut" briefing. "We lost about 16,000 barrels a day statewide."

The numbers: December production was 1,181,319 barrels a day. In November, the number was 1,196,976.

Helms said the weather had a lot to do with the drop.

"The last week of December was pretty horrific," Helms said. "A lot of wind, and a lot of very cold temperatures. And so, things slowed down significantly."

Hems said a real problem is freezing frac fluids. He said it would cost the companies too much to heat frac fluid to its idea 70-degree temperature.

Helms said he does expect production to rise again when the weather warms.

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