The path of production in the Bakken Shale formation over the past year has been dramatically pressured by everything from the OPEC supply cut agreement to delays in building the Dakota Access pipeline, resulting in output swings of hundreds of thousands of barrels per day, North Dakota’s top oil regulator told S&P Global Platts Tuesday. In an interview, Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, said statewide oil output is likely to remain above 1 million b/d, but below 1.1 million b/d, its range since February, for several months into next year. “We should see oil production in a growth mode, 10-15,000 b/d month on month is where we expect to be,” he said. But a number of scenarios, particularly an unexpected end to the OPEC supply cut agreement and increased competition from the Permian, could cause output to severely decline.