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.