With the number of uncompleted wells continuing to rise in the Bakken Shale, it is doubtful the 1 million b/d production level can be maintained into next year, North Dakota chief oil/natural gas official Lynn Helms said Thursday in releasing the state’s latest production statistics. Noting that he expected a bigger drop than 10,000 b/d in the latest statistics for March, Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, said he expects future months to show reductions in the 30,000-35,000 b/d range. Given the continuing low commodity prices, “I keep expecting the kinds of [oil] production declines we saw in December and January,” Helms said. “Perhaps the small increases we have seen in oil prices and the problems with Canadian oilsands production has strengthened people’s resolve a little bit, because we’re still seeing ever-higher inactive and uncompleted well counts. “We should start seeing drops of 30,000 b/d to […]