BISMARCK – North Dakota produced 1.191 million barrels of oil in December, according to the most recent oil and gas production numbers.

Nathan Anderson, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, announced the new numbers from December 2024 this past week. For that entire month the state produced 36.9 million barrels of oil. The numbers are normally about two months behind.

He said the oil production number for December was somewhat the number expected going into 2025.

In November 2024, the state produced 1.225 million barrels of oil a day or 36.7 million barrels of oil.

Anderson said those numbers were well above the revenue forecast for December and November.

On Thursday, the price of West Texas Intermediate was $70.94 a barrel and in the same range as the prices in November ($69.95 a barrel) and December ($70.12 a barrel).

In December, the state produced 104.6 million cubic feet (MCF) of natural gas with a daily average of 3.374 MCF a day.

Anderson said November’s final numbers were similar with 104.1 MCF or 3.472 MCF for the daily average.

“Wells permitted in the state has been positive for the month of December,” Anderson said. He said 78 wells were permitted in November, 87 in December and 102 in January. He said the higher number in January is being attributed to no holidays that month.

As of Feb. 13, 33 rigs were actively drilling in the state, the same number as in January. In December. 36 rigs were drilling and in November, 37.

Anderson said the rig count is down slightly during the first part of 2025 but it is not surprising due to the number of mergers that occurred recently.

Other relevant rig counts include 586 in the United States. That number breaks down to 278 in Texas, 106 in New Mexico, 43 in Oklahoma and 20 in Wyoming.

From a Basin perspective, Anderson said, the Permian in Texas and New Mexico has 304 rigs running, the Eagle Ford in South Texas has 43, the Williston Basin, according to Baker-Hughes report, has 37, and the Marcelus and Utica dry gas combination has 34 rigs.

“Wells waiting on completion went down slightly from November to December. December’s number was 288,” Anderson said.

He said the number of inactive wells also was down, with 1,643 in December.

He also said the number of completed wells is down from 89 in December to 78 (preliminary number) in January. He said that lower number is attributed to winter activities and potential impacts from mergers.

“The well count in the state continues to go up. The total well count is 19,286,” Anderson said.

He said the Fort Berthold Reservation produced 160,275 barrels of oil a day.

The reservation has two drilling rigs and 2,957 active wells. One well is waiting on completion and128 drilling permits have been approved.

“From seismic standpoint, there’s three active crews. I know at least a couple of them are up north between Bismarck and the lake,” Anderson said.

The statewide gas flared volume from November to December increased 31.6 MMCFD to 193.4 MMCF per day.

“It’s really normal month to month fluctuations that we’re seeing there,” Anderson said.

He said the statewide gas capture decreased 1% to 94% and Bakken gas capture also decreased to 95%. The historical high flared present was 36% in September 2011.

Anderson said production has remained steady month over month and it is expected to be that way for the majority 2025. He said pricing is expected to be steady for the near term.

“I recently had the opportunity to travel from Bismarck to Minot, Williston, Watford City and then down to Dickinson. One thing I consistently noticed was the benefit of modern horizontal drilling technology and the consolidation of multiple wells on single pads and how these practices have really cut down on unnecessary surface use. North Dakota is fortunate in this regard and it was nice to see that benefit during my recent travels,”Anderson said.