Reuters reports the break-even point in various counties in North Dakota based on comments from state officials.
Costs per well can vary widely across North Dakota depending on a variety of factors, including the type of sand used in the hydraulic fracturing process, geology, weather and waste disposal.
Operating costs across the state have risen, on average, 36 percent in the past year to roughly $15,000 per well per month, Helms said. The jump is primarily due to larger amounts of water being produced with the oil, necessitating higher disposal costs, in addition to high diesel costs to fuel on-site generators at remote wells.
Trying to assuage concerns on Wall Street that falling oil prices could imperil the state's Bakken oil boom, Helms said oil extraction in McKenzie County, the state's largest oil-producing county, wouldn't become economically unfeasible until $28 per barrel, far below current oil prices.
Yet, Helms admitted, production in at least three North Dakota counties, including Divide County where American Eagle Energy operates, is economically unfeasible now.Date-time stamp for this article:
Roughly 60 percent of the produced oil in August left via train, with 34 percent via pipe and the rest via truck, regulators said.