The number of oil wells in North Dakota that have been drilled but not fracked eclipsed 1,000 for the first time in September, as producers delayed turning them on in hopes crude prices will soon recover. The milestone, which was widely expected around the second-largest oil producing state, highlights the immense cost pressure companies have come under in the past year as crude prices have dropped more than 50 percent. Fracking alone can account for nearly two-thirds of a well’s cost. Today more than 8 percent of oil wells in the state are sitting idle, storing their crude and natural gas in rock miles underground until prices rise. The delay harms the industry’s ability to grow production, a metric closely watched by investors. Daily output in the state fell 2 percent in September. “That’s sending a definite signal to the market that oil and gas operators are not willing […]