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Published December 24, 2009, 09:45 AM

N.D. oil patch posts record production

State and industry officials say North Dakota's oil patch will set a production record in 2009, despite a year that began with depressed crude prices and a drop in drilling activity.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — State and industry officials say North Dakota's oil patch will set a production record in 2009, despite a year that began with depressed crude prices and a drop in drilling activity.

Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, says North Dakota will produce about 80 million barrels of oil in 2009. That's up from a record 62.8 million barrels last year.

North Dakota has risen from being the ninth-largest oil-producing state in 2006 to No. 4 this year. But a year ago, industry officials believed that the production pinnacle had been reached in the state's oil patch.

Rigs were being idled due to a harsh winter combined with slipping crude prices and a slumping U.S. economy.

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