North Dakota output breaks records as operators drill best acreage Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Remaining wells made up largely of low producing geography Bakken peak performance may hinge on technology North Dakota oil producers have broken output records already twice this year, with state regulators expecting further record-shattering output into late 2018. But as acreage within the Bakken Shale’s core drilling areas in McKenzie, Mountrail, Williams and Dunn counties nears depletion, operators will move on to wells in what are now fringe areas, with outputs averaging a fraction of the play’s more currently prolific wells, according to a study from the North Dakota Pipeline Authority. The study shows an epic shift in Bakken well performance could be nearing, as the majority of Bakken wells go from geology with a peak monthly performance of at least 1,000 b/d of crude […]