MDN FILE PHOTO North Dakota's oil and natural gas production remained steady in January, according to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

BISMARCK – North Dakota produced 1.124 million barrels of oil a day in January, a slight decrease to the prior month’s production of 1.126 million barrels of oil a day.

Natural gas production also had a slight decrease with January production at 103 billion cubic feet and 103.7 BCF in December.

The oil and natural gas production numbers for January were released by the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources in Bismarck Thursday, March 19.

Overall, production for North Dakota was quite stable from December to January, according to the report.

North Dakota’s production has 97.4% of it coming from the Bakken/Three Forks Formation and the rest is nonBakken-Three Forks production.

Currently, 25 rigs are actively working in the state, an increase of one rig since February and January when the state had 26 rigs. A total of 26 rigs are working in the Williston Basin, an area including North Dakota and Montana.

McKenzie County is the top producing county in the state with 32.7% of the production. Other top producing counties are Williams, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide. The five counties make up 96.2% of N.D. oil production, according to the report.

Permits and completions in the state have been steady.

In February, 60 permits were issued in North Dakota, and 73 in January; and 60 wells were completed in February and 63 in January.

The total number of producing wells is down 12, month over month, and the number of inactive wells increased by 274, month over month.

The top 10 oil producers in North Dakota in 2026 are: Chord Energy, 18.3%; Continental Resources, 15.6%; ConocoPhillips, 13.1%; Devon Energy Williston, 10.8%; Chevron, 10.1%; Kraken Operating, 5.1%; XTO Energy, 4.4%; Petro-Hunt, 3.5%; Hunt Oil Co., 2.9%; and Phoenix Operating, 2.8%. Others make up 13.1% of the production.

Fort Berthold Reservation produced 142,742 barrels of oil in January, a 4.4% increase. In December, the reservation produced 136,745 barrels of oil. One rig was operating on the reservation. There were 139 active permits, a decrease from the previous month, and 3,013 active wells on Fort Berthold Reservation.

The statewide gas flared volume from December to January increased by 6.3 million cubic feet per day to 157.6 MCF. The statewide gas capture increased to 95.3% while Bakken gas capture decreased to 95.6%.