N.D. sees second consecutive monthly drop in oil output

North Dakota’s oil output declined for the second consecutive month as just one new well was completed in February and some producers pumped less oil and gas to meet flaring rules, state officials said Tuesday.

“It was an unusual event,” Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Mineral Resources Department, said of the back-to-back monthly decline in production, which last happened in 2011.

Oil production in the state likely will fall through May because of the drop in the number of drilling rigs to 91 this month, less than half the number operating a year ago, he added.

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