Grants totaling more than a quarter of a million dollars will help communities across North Dakota diversify their economy, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said.

Hoeven said the U.S. Economic Development Administration funneled grants totaling $310,000 to the state for economic diversification assistance.

"These grants will help to develop and diversify the economies of communities across North Dakota," said Hoeven. "This builds on our work to create good jobs for our people and ensure our state's economy is healthy and strong now and into the future."

North Dakota's economy grew last year faster than any other U.S. state in terms of real growth in gross domestic product. The U.S. Commerce Department said in a state-by-state review North Dakota can credit the extractive industries for a sizable portion of its 9.7 percent growth rate in real GDP last year.

Oil prices have dropped to the point that some drillers may no longer find it profitable to keep moving forward and several major international energy companies have trimmed their investment forecasts as a result.

Tapping into shale, like the Bakken play in North Dakota, is more capital intensive than elsewhere in the world.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission issued its report on monthly crude oil production last week. It found production in October, the last full month for which data are available, was down about 4,000 barrels per day from the previous month.

NDIC said low oil prices were in part behind the decline in production. The number of rigs actively producing or exploring in the state is "set to fall rapidly" during the first quarter of 2015, the report said.

Less than 5 percent of all North Dakota oil production comes from areas outside the Bakken play.