North Dakota Operators Likely to Keep Crude Output Steady This Year, Regulator Says

Crude output is expected to be relatively steady in North Dakota in February, the third-largest U.S. oil-producing state, a state regulator said on Monday, with little change expected in drilling activity.

Operators are likely to hold their drilling rig count, an indicator of future output, near current operational levels of 26 for the year, said Nathan Anderson, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Oil production in North Dakota fell by 76,000 barrels per day to 1.12 million bpd in December, according to the department’s latest data.

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Output is estimated to have fallen 80,000 bpd to 110,000 bpd for several days of January, according to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, as a winter storm pushed operators to shut in production.

“In January (data) we will see the effects of winter,” said Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, referring to crude production figures.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to strike down U.S. President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs is unlikely to boost North Dakota’s oil output in the short term, Anderson said. He added output growth would be dependent on capital costs, expenses and oil prices.

Trump’s tariffs raised costs for U.S. crude producers and service companies who buy imported equipment and materials. Many absorbed the additional costs; others tried to pass them on to customers.

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston and Siddharth Cavale in New York, Editing by Franklin Paul)