MDN File Photo North Dakota’s oil production as well as natural gas production have increased slightly.

BISMARCK – North Dakota produced 1.129 million barrels of oil a day in February, a slight increase from January’s production of 1.125 million barrels of oil a day.

Natural gas production also had a slight increase with February’s production at 3.392 billion cubic feet a day and 3.323 BCF a day in January.

The oil and natural gas production numbers for January were recently released by the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources in Bismarck. The numbers are normally about two months behind.

North Dakota’s production has 96.2% of the total coming from the Bakken/Three Forks Formation and the rest is nonBakken-Three Forks production.

As of April 21, 26 rigs were actively working in the state, an increase of one rig since March. A total of 28 rigs are working in the Williston Basin, an area including North Dakota and Montana.

McKenzie County continues to be the top producing county in the state with 32% 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. Burke, Billings, Bowman, Bottineau and Stark counties also have oil production.

Sixty permits were issued in each March and February in North Dakota, compared to 73 in January. In March, 55 wells were completed, 60 wells in February and 63 in January.

The total number of producing wells is up 171, month over month, and the number of inactive wells increased by 37, month over month, according to the report. Producing wells were at an all-time high of 19,625 in October 2025.

According to the report, currently the top 10 oil producers in North Dakota in 2026 are: Chord Energy, 18.5%; Continental Resources, 15.2%; ConocoPhillips, 13.3%; Devon Energy Williston, 10.5%; Chevron, 10.1%; Kraken Operating, 5%; XTO Energy, 4.5%; Petro-Hunt, 3.5%; Phoenix Operating, 3%; and Hunt Oil Co., 2.8%. Others make up 13.6% of the production.

Fort Berthold Reservation produced 146,829 barrels of oil in February, a 2.9% increase. In January, the reservation produced 142,742 barrels of oil. One rig was operating on the reservation. There were 138 active permits, a decrease from the previous month, and 3,025 active wells on Fort Berthold Reservation.

The statewide gas flared volume from January to February decreased by 21.1 million cubic feet per day to 136.5 MMCF/D. The statewide gas capture increased to 95.8% while Bakken gas capture increased to 96%.