MDN File Photo North Dakota’s oil production was 3.4% above the revenue forecast in November.

BISMARCK – North Dakota produced 35.673 million barrels of oil in November or 1.189 million barrels of oil per day, according to the recent report from the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources. In October, the state produced 36.475 million barrels of oil or 1.176 million barrels of oil per day.

Nathan Anderson, director of the Mineral Resources Department, said last week in the January Director’s Cut report of the state’s oil and gas production, that total was 3.4% above the revenue forecast of 1.15 million barrels of oil a day.

Last week, Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources, announced the company is pausing drilling due to low oil prices but the company is not leaving the state.

Natural gas production dropped slightly – from 110.4 billion cubic feet in October to 106.1 BCF in November.

Production numbers are normally about two months behind.

McKenzie, Williams, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide are the top five counties for oil production, with 32% of the production coming from McKenzie County, Anderson said. The five counties make up 96.6% of the state’s oil production.

Twenty-eight rigs were actively drilling in the state in November, 27 in December and currently, 26, according to Anderson’s report. A total of 28 rigs were drilling in the Williston Basin, including North Dakota and Montana.

Anderson reported in October, 84 permits were issued, 75 in November and 85 in December. In October, 65 wells were completed, 37 in November and 83 in December.

Anderson said the total number of producing wells is down 197, month after month, and the number of inactive wells decreased by 466, month over month.

In October, producing wells were at an all-time high of 19,625.

Fort Berthold Reservation produced 140,336 barrels of oil in November, a decrease of 8.9%. In October, the reservation produced 153,968 barrels of oil. One rig was running on the reservation. There were 153 active permits, an increase from last month, and 3,013 active wells.

The statewide gas flared volume decreased by 8.3 million cubic feet per day from October to November. The statewide gas capture remained steady at 95.2%, while Bakken gas capture also remained steady at 95.5%.

Top 15 oil producers in ND

The top 15 oil producers in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, are as follows, including operator, 2025 total oil produced in barrels of oil (BBLS) and percentage of state total:

– Continental Resources, Inc.: 61,250,565; 15.6%

– Hess Bakken Investments 11, LLC (Chevron): 40,375,628; 10.3%

– Oasis Petroleum North America, LLC (Chord Energy): 31,771,734; 8.1%

– Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co., LP (Conoco): 30,817,725; 7.9%

– Marathon Oil Co. (Conoco): 25,864,463; 6.6%

– Grayson Mill Operating, LLC (Devon): 24,467,764; 6.2%

– Enerplus Resources USA Corp. (Chord Energy): 23,223,233; 5.9%

– Whiting Oil and Gas Corp. (Chord Energy): 18,075,190; 4.6%

– XTO Energy Inc.: 17,748,262; 4.5%

– WPX Energy Williston, LLC (Devon): 11,646,308; 3.0%

– Kraken Operating, LLC: 11,114,114; 2.8%

– Slawson Exploration Co., LLC: 10,654,363; 2.7%

– Petro-Hunt, LLC: 10,059,618; 2.6%

– Neptune Operating, LLC: 9,184,381; 2.3%

– EOG Resources, Inc.: 8,115,949; 2.1%

State Total: 391,983,958; 85.3%