Records from the state's Department of Natural Resources show North Dakota produced 18.3 million barrels of crude in April -- up from 17.9 million barrels in March. Minnesota's western neighbor has surpassed Alaska to take the No. 2 slot among the states. Natural gas production also set a record in April.

North Dakota's oil patch pumped roughly 674,000 barrels per day in July to hit a record total of 20.8 million barrels for the month, the Associated Press reports. That's 7.5 million barrels higher than the same month a year ago.

Mild winter weather helped boost activity. North Dakota produced more than 558,000 barrels per day in February. The oil rich region passed California in January to be the third largest oil producer and could soon overtake No. 2 Alaska.

The new study by Bentek Energy LLC of Colorado shows North Dakota's oil production could jump to more than two million barrels a day by 2025, the Associated Press reports. Natural gas production could also more than quintuple. Unfortunately, about a third of the natural gas produced in North Dakota is wasted because there's a lack of pipelines.