North Dakota Oil Production Reaches Record Levels

According to the Industrial Commission of North Dakota, oil production in the state has soared to record levels.

For the month of July, the amount of oil produced in the state climbed to over 674,000 barrels a day, a record for the state.

For Bakken, Three Forks and Sanish, oil production also surged to record levels, jumping to 610,000 barrels a day for the month.

Continental (NYSE:CLR) May Triple Production by 2014

At their analyst day Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) said they have a target of increasing production by three times what they are now, along with their reserves.

One concern by those attending was the capital expenditure needed to generate that type of growth.

Attending the function, Ticonderoga Securities said, "The two keys to the puzzle for CLR are the Bakken, where it has 865,000 net acres and 540MM boe of net unrisked reserve potential, and the Anadarko Woodford, where CLR boasts 252,000 net acres and 1.5B boe of net unrisked reserve potential. Additionally, there is another 228MM boe of net unrisked reserve potential in the Arkoma Woodford and the Niobrara.

"If there has been disappointment at the meeting, it stems from investors
expecting that the growth would not come at so steep a cost. We were modeling capex within cash flow for 2011 (approximately $1B), but CLR is now guiding toward $1.36B (91% earmarked for drilling, and 92% of the drilling is earmarked for the Bakken and the Woodford)."

Ticonderoga said they maintain a "Neutral" on CLR.