North Dakota's daily oil production fell slightly in October, the state's energy agency said Friday, while energy demand continued to surge and prices shot upward.
The state produced about 4,000 fewer barrels per day than it did in September, a marginal change on a base of 1.1 million barrels daily.
The average per barrel price for North Dakota Light Sweet crude rose 15% in October from September to $74.35. Today, it's selling for around $66 a barrel, shaped in part by fears that the omicron variant may create another lull in the global economic rebound.
Meanwhile, the state's natural gas production rose 2.6% in October from September, a bigger gain than seen in September from August.
North Dakota, the Midwest's chief producer of oil and gas, has been slowly recovering from the plunge in energy demand that happened when the virus spread across the globe nearly two years ago. The state produced a record 1.52 million barrels per day in November 2019.
In the latest release of production data, the North Dakota Mineral Resources agency said Friday that drilling activity continued to rise through the fall months. Well completions climbed from 34 in September to 41 in October. And a preliminary count for November shows 60 well completions.
The agency's more detailed report for November, due next month, will provide a clearer picture of North Dakota's role in the sharp rise of U.S. oil production that's already been reported by the International Energy Agency for the month.
The agency earlier this week said that global production of oil is now catching up with the surge in demand and the economic rebound that was a result of the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It forecast a daily surplus in worldwide oil production for December, and the agency's analysts expect U.S. production to hit record levels in 2022.
