MDN File Photo North Dakota reached an all-time high in September of having 19,200 producing wells.

BISMARCK – North Dakota has a new all-time high of 19,200 producing wells, according to the assistant director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Mark Bohrer announced the most recent oil and gas production numbers this past week. The numbers are for September, the most recent numbers available.

He said the state produced nearly 1.2 million barrels of oil a day in September and that number was about a 1.2% increase and 9% above the revenue forecast. He said that was the increase they have been anticipating coming up later on the year, based on the completions they have been seeing.

“We’re still producing 97% of the oil from the Bakken and the Three Forks pool,” Bohrer said.

He said crude oil prices are discouraging and slightly below forecast.

On Tuesday, North Dakota Light Sweet was selling at $65.50 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was selling at $67.51 a barrel.

North Dakota is producing 3.567 million cubic feet (MCF) a day of natural gas, up about 1.1% over the August number.

Bohrer said the gas capture was at 95% or 3.378 MCF a day, noting those are good gas capture numbers.

The state permitted 111 wells in October.

“We think around that 100 number is the number we need to be at to be able to grow production 1-2 %,” Bohrer said.

He said the rig count has been very steady over the last several months. On Tuesday, 39 rigs were actively drilling in North Dakota.

“The rig count remains steady,” Bohrer said. He said it might increase slightly over the coming years.

He said there are 16 frac crews currently active in the state. He said last month there were 18 frac crews actively working.

Bohrer said the number of wells waiting on completions are steady. He said they believe that will be the new normal for future numbers. In September, 376 wells were waiting on completions.

He said the number of inactive wells fluctuates quite a bit for various reasons. In September, 1,903 wells were inactive.

He also said there were 95 (preliminary number) completions in October.

“Those are good numbers that we need to maintain production,” he said.

Boher said Fort Berthold Reservation is producing about 192,000 barrels of oil a day.

“That’s a slight decrease from last month but it’s holding steady at about that 190,000 barrels per day,” he said.

Two rigs are actively drilling on the reservation. The reservation has 2,995 active wells, two wells waiting on completions and 112 approved drilling permits, according to the November report.