North Dakota Hits 1 Million Barrels Of Daily Oil Production

Update: Here’s a link to the latest report from North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

I haven’t seen this reported from any of the state sources yet, but Senator John Hoeven’s office has sent out the press release below announcing that North Dakota has hit 1 million barrels per day in oil production, and I’m guessing the Senator would know.

What’s remarkable is that North Dakota has gone from producing less than 100,000 barrels per day in 2000 to over 1 million barrels per day now in 2014.

Here’s what that looks like in graph form, measuring daily oil production in June of every year going back to 2000 based on data from the Department of Mineral Resources (which hasn’t released the specific data on the state breaking the 1 million barrels per day mark). Note that most of the surge in oil production has taken place just in the last couple of years:

Meanwhile, North Dakota’s economic boom has tracked the oil boom closely as this chart of annual oil production correlated with state GDP created by Professor Mark Perry shows:

Meanwhile, the state’s oil industry is expected to celebrate this landmark in production in Tioga on June 25th.

Here’s the full press release:

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement regarding news that North Dakota is producing one million barrel of oil a day mark. In 2000, North Dakota produced less than 100,000 barrels of oil per day:

“Today, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources announced that our state has topped one million barrels of oil production a day. That is the collective achievement of many individuals and companies that have worked tirelessly for more than a decade to build this important industry in North Dakota. It is possible because we built a good business and regulatory environment to attract investment and innovation to the Bakken.

“Reaching the one million barrel a day mark is a tremendous and timely milestone for the petroleum industry and our state, but it is also a tremendous milestone for our nation. If recent events in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere in the world teach us anything, it is that we must build our domestic energy resources and reduce our reliance on Middle Eastern oil to strengthen America’s national and economic security.

“Nationally, there was more good news during the past week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the United States in 2013 produced 84 percent of its energy needs domestically, and North Dakota has clearly been a big part of getting there. This is a dramatic difference from the historic low point in 2005, when we met just 69 percent of our nation’s energy demand. To put that fact in perspective, you need to understand that the last time U.S. energy production exceeded its energy demand was in the 1950s, according to the EIA.

“So today, we celebrate and congratulate all who have worked so hard to bring North Dakota to this historic watershed. We need to continue as a state to build on our successes to create a brighter future for all North Dakotans. I will continue to highlight our state’s successes nationally and push for programs like those we initiated in North Dakota a decade ago so that our nation can create jobs, grow our economy and make all of us safer and more secure.”