North Dakota set an oil production record in January this year, and crude output in the state home to the Bakken shale play held close to that record level in the three months that followed. But is this sustainable in the current oil price environment? The recent oil price slide in May and June is clouding the outlook for oil drillers in North Dakota, who are additionally challenged by diminishing available pipeline takeaway capacity to ship their oil and natural gas to markets. North Dakota’s crude currently trades at around US$40 a barrel, dangerously close to the breakeven price for new wells, according to Lynn Helms, Director at North Dakota’s Department of Mineral Resources. North Dakota’s Bakken play is expected to keep robust output and stable rig count going forward, but production would depend on the price of oil, infrastructure constraints, and workforce availability, Helms said in a press […]