North Dakota oil operators are still bringing back some facilities online after wildfires in October

The state's Industrial Commission reported on Wednesday that oil operators in North Dakota are still working to bring some of their facilities online after wildfires in October ravaged key oil-producing counties.

Mark Bohrer is the assistant director of North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources' oil and gas division. He said that the October production in the state was down by 520,000 bbls. This was primarily due to operators closing in wells in order to prevent damage from wildfires.

Bohrer said that the (drop in production) number is significant.

The monthly data released by the commission on Wednesday showed that production in October was down to 1,178 million barrels per daily (bpd), compared with 1.2 million in September.

The number of rigs in the state is stable, with 37 in December. Bohrer said that this number is expected to rise to mid-40s in the next two years.

As of December 2014, there are only 14 active hydraulic fracturing teams in North Dakota. This is down from 18 last month and 16 the previous month.

According to the regulator, Bakken oil at Clearbrook in Minnesota was priced at $1.55 per barrel less than West Texas Intermediate. This compares to a 90 cent discount last month. (Reporting and editing by Matthew Lewis in Houston)

(source: Reuters)