North Dakota's petroleum industry had its best month in 21⁄2 years in June as oil production climbed 3%.

The state's natural gas output also rose 3%, according to data released Tuesday. "All of the numbers are really good news,' said Lynn Helms, head of North Dakota's Mineral Resources Department.

North Dakota, the nation's third-largest petroleum producer after Texas and New Mexico, pumped 1.17 million barrels of oil a day in June, its highest monthly output since December 2020, state data shows.

That's still well below North Dakota's highwater mark of 1.52 million barrels per day in November 2019. But June caps the best six-month production period since the end of 2020, state data indicates.

North Dakota's drill rig count — a harbinger of future production — has been rising. There are 41 rigs drilling new oil wells this month, up from 37 in July and June.

North Dakota also set a record for the number of producing oil wells in June: 18,085. Compared with a few years ago, the state has more active wells but less oil production as its industry has matured.

Helms said Tuesday that oil companies are moving beyond the "core" of the state's Bakken oil fields onto "second tier" and even "third tier" oil lands. He said new production technologies can allow those secondary fields to produce levels on par with the core itself.

But as the industry spreads out, it will have to spend more money to capture and transport natural gas, which is extracted in tandem with oil, Helms said. "There's going to be a little struggle to maintain gas capture."