2011 by the numbers: No stopping the oil boom

Tribune staff
Posted: Sunday, January 1, 2012 2:12 am

By every measure, the oil boom dominated North Dakota’s economic activity in 2011, making it yet another year for the books.
As of the end of October, the last reporting quarter, old records fell and new oil production records continued to be set, just as they have every reporting quarter for the past three years.

13.9 million – The number of barrels of oil being produced each month in North Dakota as of October. That’s nearly 500,000 barrels a day.
4 – The state is the fourth highest oil producing state in the country. Mountrail County is the leading oil producing county, followed in order by McKenzie County, Williams County and Dunn County, which together produce nearly 11 million barrels of the state’s monthly total.

196 – The drilling rig count at the end of December, according to the Oil and Gas Division.

201 – The all-time high number of rigs ever operating in the state, set in August.

95 percent – The amount of drilling in the state that targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

762 – Idle wells at the end of October. There were approximately 300 more than the normal 450 idle wells. The number of idle wells indicates that drilling is outpacing fracture treatment services. It’s estimated another 10 fracture service crews are needed to catch up to the backlog.

6,202 – The number of producing oil wells in North Dakota, more than at any other time in the state’s oil producing history.

39 percent -The state’s oil-producing region continues to create retail growth, and the third quarter sales and use tax report from the North Dakota tax commissioner showed retail activity was up 39 percent statewide compared to a year ago.

90 percent – Increase in retail activity in Williston. Other oil patch communities also increased, such as Tioga, with retail tax activity up 138 percent, and Stanley, up 127 percent.

$722 million – Williston’s taxable sales for the last quarter exceeded Fargo’s $654 million, even though Williston’s population is 14,000, compared to Fargo’s 105,000.
169 – New drilling permits issued in October.