Oil production in North Dakota increased 1 percent despite obvious signs of a slowdown in the state’s shale reserve areas, state data show. The North Dakota Industrial Commission said oil production in March, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.19 million barrels per day, up from the 1.18 million bpd from February but down from the 1.22 million bpd in December, the all-time high. The increase comes despite a drop in the number of rigs exploring for or producing oil and natural gas in the No. 2 oil producer in the nation. “The drilling rig count dropped 25 from February to March, 17 more from March to April, and has since fallen 8 more from April to today,” the NDIC […]