North Dakota’s oil production slid for the second month in a row in February as falling crude prices zapped producers’ incentives to keep the spigots fully open, according to data released on Tuesday by the state’s Department of Mineral Resources. Even more ominous for the No. 2 U.S. oil producer: While the number of producing wells in the state’s four most prolific counties jumped during February, the amount of oil output dropped in each of them. Shale, the major source of the state’s oil, is a notoriously fickle rock, and new wells must be constantly tapped to maintain output. But producers have been loath in recent months to launch the same number of wells they did last year, with many preferring (or being forced to) scale back spending amidst a more than 50 percent drop in oil prices since last summer. [ID:nL3N0WJ598] That’s a sign, […]