Norway Misses Oil Output Targets

Rigzone is reporting:

Norway's crude oil output fell 13% on the year in the first quarter and missed the official forecast, partly due to technical problems on fields operated by BP PLC and Statoil ASA, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Thursday. 

First-quarter crude oil output was about 1.454 million barrels a day, or 2% below the directorate's forecast.

Look at that number again. Norway produces 1.5 million bbls/day. Remember how often Norway is in the news, folks talking about oil-rich Norway? Population: 5 million people. Oslo: 600,000. With a king. North Dakota: 750,000 bbls/day. Population: 700,000. Bismarck: 70,000. With a governor.

I honestly don't think folks understand how huge the Bakken is for North Dakota. And remember: the bulk of the Bakken is in four counties: Williams, Mountrail, McKenzie, and Dunn. And not many off-shore wells in North Dakota.

And at only 750,000 bbls/day, North Dakota accounts for about 12% of America's total crude oil production. 

Norway's oil output has been on a declining trend for more than a decade. Total oil and gas output rose slightly last year, as higher gas production offset a huge drop in oil output. The total output was still 15% below the country's 2004 peak.