North Dakota’s oil producers have pulled back to the core areas of the Bakken formation to cut costs and maximize output amid the slump in prices. The number of active rigs in the state has fallen to just 121, from 190 a year ago, according to an active rig list published by the state’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on Wednesday. The rig count is now below the threshold of “at least 130” DMR Director Lynn Helms identified last month as needed to sustain output at the current level of just over 1.2 million barrels per day. But more important than the raw number is their distribution across the state, with drilling now increasingly concentrated in only the most promising areas. Of the 121 rigs active on Wednesday, 115 are drilling in just four counties at the heart of the Bakken – Dunn, McKenzie, Mountrail and […]