Random Look At North Dakota Oil Production By County

Seventeen counties are producing oil in North Dakota. For May, 2012, for selected counties, production for the most recent month available (total bbls/month):

Mountrail: 5,011,665
McKenzie: 3,941,454
Williams: 2,963,076
Dunn: 2,610,393

Bowman: 760,079
Divide: 704,244

Billings: 381,666
Burke: 296,961
Stark: 210,865

Bottineau: 161,695
McLean: 129,894

There are a number of reasons why this might be interesting (or not). One of the biggest reasons was an "after-the-fact" thought. Yesterday, "anonymous" suggested that 3.8% GDP growth in North Dakota was fairly exaggerated in its importance. With regard to oil, it is but a handful of counties driving that growth. 

Surface area, square miles:

Mountrail: 1,824
McKenzie: 2,742 (largest county in ND)
Williams: 2,148
Dunn: 2,082
Bowman: 1,167
Divide:1,260
Billings: 1,153 Burke: 1,129
Stark: 1,340
Bottineau: 1,698
McLean: 2,328

Total surface are of those eleven counties: 18,871 square miles.
North Dakota's surface area is 70,762 square miles.

The four counties contributing the most oil production (currently) comprise 8,796 square miles in surface area, or about 12 percent of total surface of North Dakota. If all eleven counties are considered, that works out to about 27 percent.

This data is completely meaningless, and perhaps uninteresting, except to me and one other person, who shall remain nameless.