Blackouts cause North Dakota oil and gas production to fall

BISMARCK- The winter storms that paralyzed Texas and other south-central states and resulted in rolling power blackouts elsewhere caused North Dakota’s oil and gas production to fall more than expected in February.

The blackouts temporarily shut down production in North Dakota, the nation’s second-largest oil-producing state. The state produced about one million barrels of crude per day in February, down nearly 6% from the previous month. Natural gas production fell 5% from January.

Officials were expecting a 2 to 3% decline in oil production in February before the blackouts.