North Dakota sweet crude oil is selling for about $50 a barrel this week, a five year low.
But the state's top oil regulator says there is just a "little bit of gloom but no doom" for the state's petroleum industry.
Lynn Helms told the House Appropriations Committee that low oil prices already have halted several rigs in the past month.
He expects production to remain steady over the next several months as companies focus on regions where drilling for oil is easier and more profitable.