The State of North Dakota has surpassed the 1-million b/d oil mark according to the North Dakota Industrial Commission's (NDIC) Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), thanks mostly to the Bakken Shale and Three Forks formation.

The preliminary data, released in the monthly Director's Cut in June of 2014, revealed April oil production was 1,001,149 b/d. North Dakota is second only to Texas for oil production.

It's certain poor weather conditions at the end of 2013 and the beginning of this year prevented the production milestone from being hit sooner. According to North Dakota officials, in the month of February, there were 18 days with temperatures five or more degrees below normal. Four days were recorded where wind gusts were too high for completion work. Despite the poor weather, the state set a new record for the number of producing wells (10,186) in February. In April, North Dakota broke that record again, with 10,658 producing wells. By contrast, at the onset of the shale revolution in 2008, the state only had ~3,600 producing wells.

Read more: Bakken Production Sets Another Record for Producing Wells - Feb

The Bakken region, which includes portions of western Montana, exceeded the 1-million b/d mark at end of last year according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It is the fourth region, along with the Gulf of Mexico, Eagle Ford, and Permian basins, producing more than 1 million b/d in the nation.

In April of 2014, Continental Resources, the Bakken's largest producer, cited IHS data revealing the Bakken field of North Dakota and Montana reached another milestone of 1 billion bbls of cumulative light, sweet crude oil produced during first quarter of 2014. According to Continental officials, two-thirds of the oil has been produced since 2011.

Read more: Continental Resources: Bakken Hits 1-Billion Barrel Mark

Highlights from June 2014 Director's Cut

• Mar Oil - 977,178
• Apr Oil - 1,001,149 b/d
• Mar Gas - 1,085,631 mcf/d
• Apr Gas - 1,133,742 mcf/d
• Mar Producing Wells - 10,472
• Apr Producing Wells - 10,658
• ND leasing activity is low consisting mostly of renewals and top leases in the Bakken - Three Forks area