Carpe Diem Links the Economic Miracle Called North Dakota

Link here.

Oil production in N. Dakota set more monthly records in August:

1. A new record for monthly production: 13,768,395 barrels, a 34.6% increase from last August.  In just a little more than two years (since June 2009), oil production has doubled in North Dakota (see chart above). 

2. A new record for average daily production: 444,142 barrels.  

3. A new record number of wells producing: 5,702. 

4. A new record for oil-related jobs: 16,200 (see chart), which is more than double the number of North Dakota oil jobs at the beginning of last year. 

At North Dakota's blazing current pace of monthly increases in oil production, the state will be producing more than 560,000 barrels of oil per day by January 2012 and will then pass #3 California (540,000 barrels per day) and #2 Alaska (550,000 barrels per day) to become America's second-largest oil producer.  North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms is even more optimistic and predicts that the Peace Garden State could actually be producing as much as 800,000 barrels per day by the end of this year! 

I've been told that Lynn Helms was misquoted or he misspoke. The 800,000 bopd is predicted for end of 2015. Interestingly enough I have not seen a correction in the Dickinson Press yet if that 800,000 figure is in error. It will be interesting to see what the new year brings.