North Dakota’s oil output fell below the 1 million barrels-per-day (bpd) mark for first time in two years, the state said on Thursday, even as other U.S. operators add rigs thanks to rising crude prices. Production is likely to remain below that level, a state official said. It dropped in August by 4.7 percent, or some 49,000 bpd, to 981,039 bpd, the state’s industrial commission said, after rising by roughly 2,400 bpd the month prior. Operators in other parts of the country are adding drilling rigs, while higher-cost North Dakota production continues to struggle. The state, the country’s second-largest producer of oil, has endured a two-year crude price rout and the need for new routes to move their oil. The rig count for October was at 33, down one from the previous month, according to Lynn Helms, head of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources. “Operators remain committed to […]