During 3/12 ND passed AK to become the number two oil producing state with 575,000 barrels a day (bbl/d) compared to AK’s 567K bbl/d. TX holds down the top spot with 1.7 million bbl/d. CA is fourth with 230K bbl/d followed by OK and NM. Four years ago, ND was the number eight oil producer with 144K bbl/d. For ND hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has made all the difference.