Rigzone's Lead Article Today: North Dakota Sets New Crude Oil Production Record (Also A New Natural Gas Production Record)

I didn't even bother reading this article; just the headline. I'm sure it says nothing new that wasn't reported earlier, but it is so incredibly cool to see that THIS STORY WAS THE LEAD STORY IN RIGZONE today. Incredible:

North Dakota Oil, Gas Production Reach New Highs

Sweet.

Now that I've posted it, I read the article, to include this:

The number of producing wells in the state also reached a record 8,915 in May, compared with 8,772 wells in April, according to NDIC’s Department of Natural Resources.

Drilling permits grew to 211 in May from 202 in April, but declined to 165 in June; all three figures are down from the record of 370 set in October 2012. Lynn Helms, director of the NDIC’s Department of Natural Resources, attributed the permit activity decline to sufficient permit inventory in place to accommodate multi-well pads, the inability to build locations during load restrictions, and time needed to deal with federal hydraulic fracturing rules if required.

The neatest "comment"? Rigzone noted the same thing I did:

The production increase for oil beat energy information provider Genscape’s estimate that called for a production increase of 12,000 bopd from April to May.