North Dakota’s oil production reaches 1 million barrels a day

North Dakota’s energy boom has propelled the state’s crude oil production to more than 1 million barrels per day on average in April, an all-time high.

The record was in a Tuesday report from North Dakota’s Department of Mineral Resources. April production averaged 1,001,149 barrels a day, up from 977,178 barrels a day in March.

{mosads}Natural gas production also hit an all-time high of 1.1 million cubic feet per day, the state said.

North Dakota is the second-largest oil producer in the country behind Texas. In 2000, the state produced less than 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) congratulated his state for the new record.

“That is the collective achievement of many individuals and companies that have worked tirelessly for more than a decade to build this important industry in North Dakota,” he said in a statement. “It is possible because we built a good business and regulatory environment to attract investment and innovation to the Bakken.”

Hoeven said the announcement means the United States is closer to energy independence.  He said it was “more good news” following a recent Energy Information Administration report that the United States produced 84 percent of its energy needs last year. 

Ninety-four percent of April’s crude in North Dakota was from the Bakken and Three Forks shales formations, which have seen production booms in recent years thanks to unconventional drilling techniques such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.