The North Dakota rig count slipped below 100 this week for the first time in five years.
According to Baker Hughes the state’s total rig count dropped to 98 as of March 20, down from 179 rigs a year ago.
The drop marks the first time in five years that North Dakota’s rig count has fallen below 100, the AP said.
Drillers operating in the Williston Basin, partially located in the North Dakota, shed five rigs last week, dropping the play’s total count to 99 from 186 rigs last year.
The Williston Basin is home to the prolific Bakken shale play.
According to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources production in Bakken hit 1.12 million barrels per day in January, a slight dip from 1.16 million bpd in December but still higher than 2014 daily production levels.
The U.S. total rig count dropped for the fifteenth straight week to 1,069 rigs, a significant drop from 1,803 rigs during the same period last year.
Shale projects have been particularly hard hit by the drilling activity slump.
U.S. drillers have dropped 377 horizontal wells and 236 vertical wells since March 2013.
The U.S. oil rig count has also been cut in half by the oil price rout, falling to 825 rigs last week from 1,473 rigs a year ago.
