According to North Dakota oil officials quoted in an Associated Press article out today, the state's oil production could increase by 50% in 2010 and could nearly double in five years. Current output as of August 2009 is 230,000 barrels per day, which makes North Dakota the number four producer in the nation. Estimates for 2010 are in the 350,000 barrel range, with up to 400,000 barrels per day possible in five years, according to Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources.
Two factors are behind the higher estimates, according to Helms. The first of these is the construction of a shipping terminal at Stanley that is expected to transport up to 60,000 barrels per day by rail to Oklahoma refineries. The second is an expansion of pipeline capacity for transporting crude to Minnesota terminals. These two combined will greatly increase the state's ability to match production levels with export capability, which has been a major imitation hindering the development of the state's oil industry until now, according to Helms.
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