North Dakota posted a surprising jump in oil and natural gas output in March, as producers leaned on newer technologies and processes to offset a slump in commodity prices. WILLISTON, N.D., May 13 (Reuters) – North Dakota posted a surprising jump in oil and natural gas output in March, as producers leaned on newer technologies and processes to offset a slump in commodity prices. Many industry observers had expected output to fall for the third consecutive month in the wake of a more than 50 percent drop in oil prices since last summer. “We scratched our heads in the month of March” as to why production increased, Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, said during a conference call with reporters. Yet the increase shows producers’ willingness to wring efficiencies out of existing operations, as well as their attempt to maintain production, even at depressed prices, […]