Director's Cut Posted -- January, 2020, Data

Link here.

Month-over-month crude oil production drops 3.2%.

The number of wells of line (inactive plus DUCs) jumped an incredible 26%. This sets a new record for the the number of wells off line for operational reasons; the previous record was September, 2019, (3,020). It will be interesting if The Bismarck Tribune posts that. [I have to recheck these numbers -- later -- when there is a jump this big, it needs to be checked.]

Disclaimer: As usual, this is done very, very quickly. It is not proofread. There will be content and typographical errors on this page. I need to check the figures later.

The Director's Cut

Data For January, 2020

North Dakota Oil and Natural Gas Production

Disclaimer: usual disclaimer applies. As usual, this is done very, very quickly. It is not proofread. There will be factual and typographical errors on this page. If this is important to you, go to the source.

Link here to past reports.

A huge, huge "thank you" to Lynn Helms and his staff at the NDIC getting this information out in a timely and transparent manner. I am not aware of any other state that does such a good job providing such data. 
 
Crude oil production:

• January, 2020, preliminary: 1,429,515 bopd 
• previous months:
• December, 2019, final: 1,476,777 bopd (all-time time was November, 2019)
• November, 2019, final:1,519,037 bopd -- new all-time high after final figures come in;
• revenue forecast: 1.4 million bopd
• October, 2019, final: 1,517,936 bopd -- previous all-time high
• September, 2019, final, 1,443,980 bopd -- very, very wet September that impacted oil fields
• August, 2019, final, 1,480,475 bopd (previous all-time high)
• July, 2019, final: 1,445,934 bopd (previous all-time high)
• June, 2019, final: 1,425,230 bopd (previous all-time high)
• month-over-month, bbls: -47,262 bopd  (January, 2020 - December, 2019)
• month-over-month, percent: - 3.2%  (January, 2020 - December, 2019) 

Gas production:

• January, 2020, preliminary: 3,014,255 MCF/day; 85% capture rate (improved, month-over-month)
• Previous months:
• December, 2019, final: 3,061,412 MCF/day; 84% capture rate (improved, month-over-month)
• November, 2019, final: 3,165,585MCF/day; new all-time high on a per-day basis; all time on a monthly basis, October, 2019)
• 83% capture
• October, 2019, final: 3,070,616 MCF/day
• 81% capture
• September, 2019, final: 2,946,391 MCF/day (note -- fell below the 3-billion threshold previously reported)
• August , 2019, final: 3,014,419 MCF/day -- an all-time high
• July, 2019, final: 2,944,816 MCF/day
• June, 2019, final: 2,885,293 MCF/day

BOE, December, preliminary:

• January, 2020, preliminary
• natural gas: 3,014,255 MCF/day = 502,287 boe
• crude oil: 1,429,515 bopd
• total boe, preliminary for January, 2020: 1,931,802 boepd
• all-time high, November, 2019: 2,046,547 boepd

Producing wells:

• January,2020, preliminary; 16,000
• December, 2019, preliminary; 16,042
• November, 2019, final: 16,110
• October, 2019, final: 16,169 (new all-time high)
• September, 2019, final: 16,115
• August, 2019, final: 15,964 (all-time high was 15,954, July 2019)
• July, 2019, final: 15,954 (another new all-time high)
• June, 2019, 15,752

Wells off-line:

• January, 2020, preliminary:
• inactive: 2,607
• DUCs: 1,024
• total: 3,631
• December, 2019, final:
• inactive: 1,920
• DUCs: 958
• total: 2,878
• November, 2019, final:
• inactive: 1,726
• DUCs: 919
• total: 2,645

Permitting:

• February,2020: 60
• January, 2020: 61
• December, 2019: 67
• November, 2019: 79
• October, 2019: 126
• September, 2019: 92
• August, 2019: 127
• July, 2019: 141
• June, 2019: 127

Rig count:

• Today: 56 (all-time high was 218 on 5/29/12)
• January, 2020: 55
• December, 2019: 55
• November: 55
• October: 56
• September: 61
• August: 62
• July: 57
• June: 63

Fort Berthold Reservation data partitioned out.

Completions:

• January, 2020: preliminary: 70
• December, 2019, final: 88 (revised)
• revenue forecast: 90
• November, 2019, final: 92
• October, 2019, final: 102
• September, 2019, final: 117 (revised up from 94) (revised a second time, up from 112)
• August, 2019, final: 102
• July, 2019, final: 137
• June, 2019, 102 (revised, last month's report); revised again, now, 123
• May, 2019, 113 (final)

 Gas capture:

• statewide, captured: 85% (84% prior month; 83% before that)
• statewide, captured: 
• January, 2020: 2,547,637 MCF/day (preliminary)
• December, 2019: 2,557446 MCF/day (final)
• November, 2019: 2,594,922 MCF/day (new all-time high)
• October, 2019:  2,524,405 MCF/day
• September, 2019: 2,429,487 MCF/day
• previous all time high was May, 2019: 2,287,761 MCF/day
• FBIR Bakken:
• January, 2020: 83%
• December, 2019: 81%
• November, 2019: 81%
  October, 2019, captured: 70% (was 79% in September)(75% reported two months ago, August, 2019)

Off line, to end of January, 2020: 2,878 -- up significantly from December, 2019 -- 3,631 in December vs 2,878 in November, 2019; an increase of 753 or an 26% increase

• DUCs: 1,024 (up 66 from the 958 in December; and December was up significantly from November)
• inactive well count: 2,607 (up 687 from 1,920 in December -- largest increase by far that I've seen month-over-month)
• wells off line for operational reasons are tracked here;  
• if I recall correctly, December, 2019, was a fairly "mild" winter by North Dakota standards;
• January: huge jump in DUCs and inactive wells;

A year earlier, January, 2019, the "off-line well" data:

• 867, up 44 from the previous report;
• inactive: 1,517, up 8 from last report -- at the time, that was an impressive number of inactive wells)
• total: 2,384 (down slightly from 2,332 in the last report; but 2,384 wells is still way more than the total number of wells that will be drilled in North Dakota this year)