A weak crude oil market that’s expected to last into 2016 should contribute to downward pressure on oil activity in North Dakota, a state regulator said. The state reported 68 rigs actively exploring for or producing oil or natural gas as of Tuesday, one less than the previous day and down 65 percent from this date in 2014. That North Dakota Industrial Commission in its latest update said oil production in July, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.2 million barrels per day, a decline of about three quarters of a percent from the previous month. More than 95 percent of the oil produced in the state comes from the Bakken and Three Forks shale region in the Williston basin […]