North Dakota state data show 107 active rigs as of Thursday, down 45 percent year-on-year and 3.6 percent less than last week. The rig count of 111 last week was the lowest since April 2010 . Bentek Energy, a forecasting division of energy reporting agency Platts, found crude oil production in and around the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota averaged 1.2 million barrels per day. That is around 276,000 bpd higher than February 2014, despite the drop off. “Producers are countering the decline in rig count with a drive for efficiency gains in drilling and completion techniques and an increased focus on their more productive acreage,” Catherine Bernardo, Bentek’s manager of energy analysis, said in a statement. Data from the North Dakota Industrial Commission found […]