Aug 15 (Reuters) - North Dakota's oil production fell by

22,500 barrels per day (bpd) in June to an estimated 1.176

million bpd, the state's Pipeline Authority said on Thursday,

marking a second straight monthly decline.

Production in the third top oil-producing U.S. state has

slipped since climbing to 1.29 million bpd last September,

according to figures from its Pipeline Authority. September's

level was the highest since March 2020, according to Energy

Information Administration data.

The state would likely have a difficult time hitting 1.3

million bpd of production by the end of the year, regulators

said on Thursday, but added they anticipated well completions to

increase from June levels.

Separately, Marathon Petroleum's ( MPC ) 71,000-bpd Mandan

refinery in North Dakota came out of a turnaround in late July,

the pipeline regulator said in a presentation.

The state experienced some natural gas plant outages

during the summer, regulators also said.