North Dakota Mineral Resource Director said 2023 was a good year for the state's oil and gas industry.
"Prices were good," said Lynn Helms. "And the companies were able to attract enough frack crews, to get into the mid to upper teens."
Helms said the companies weren't as successful with drilling crews.
"There are still workforce issues," Helms said.
Helms said the year began with North Dakota producing just over a million barrels of oil per day. He said the hope was to get to the 1.3 million barrel mark by the end of the year. He said those final production numbers aren’t in yet.
As for next year?
"2024 looks to be slower growth," Helms said. "But people are pretty optimistic."
North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad echoed Helms' comments.
"In 2023, what stands out is the month we got down to 4 percent flaring," Kringstad said. "We're continuing to see dedication by all sides — producers, mid-stream companies — to stay on top of this."
Kringstad said in 2024, some of the gas takeaway challenges will continue to amplify.
"We're working aggressively on those solutions," Kringstad said. "It could be in-state solutions for consuming and burning more of that gas in-state on projects, or couple that with incremental interstate pipeline capacity expansion."
Kringstad said in 2024, it will be "full throttle" to stay on top of that issue.