The Bakken needs to drill and complete 115 wells every month to maintain a production level of 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, according to Helms. The current price of oil in conjunction with active or expected North Dakota-imposed tax breaks for oil and gas producers has led to the first major activity slowdown in North Dakota in several months, said Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. According to Helms, the state’s production for January fell by 3 percent compared to the previous month. With the low oil price market, rig count has also dropped. In January, the state’s rig count was down 21 from December, February followed a drop of 27, and today western North Dakota has 111 drilling rigs operating—the lowest since April 2010. The number of uncompleted wells rose from the previous month, totaling roughly 825 wells. […]