Cold temperatures to blame for drop in oil, gas production in January
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
Cold temperatures from Christmastime through the month of January wreaked havoc on North Dakota’s oil and natural gas production according to Lynn Helms, North Dakota Oil and Gas Division director, during his monthly Director’s Cut on Tuesday, March 15.
“As predicted, we saw a pretty substantial production drop because of the big freeze,” stated Helms. “We saw oil production drop five percent. It’s the biggest drop we’ve seen since the pandemic.”
During January, the state produced 1.08 million barrels per day compared to 1.144 million per day the prior month, while natural gas production decreased seven percent to 2.825 million mcf per day.
While the drop in oil production put the state about one percent below the revenue forecast, higher oil prices have made up the difference.
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