Nathan Anderson

BISMARCK – Oil production in North Dakota dropped slightly in April when the state produced 34,114,664 barrels of oil or 1.137 million barrels of oil per day. In March, the state produced 35,422,376 barrels of oil or 1.142 million barrels of oil per day.

Nathan Anderson, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, who released the most recent oil and natural gas production numbers Thursday, June 18, said the oil production number for April was 1.12% below the revenue forecast of 1.15 million barrels per day. He said it is a 0.48% decrease or 5,500 barrels per day from March to April.

Anderson said Bakken-Three Forks Formation production continues to dominate the production in North Dakota at about 97.4%, and 2.6% is from non-Bakken-Three Forks production.

McKenzie, Williams, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide counties continue to be the top five counties in the state for production, according to Anderson. These counties make up about 96% of the state’s production. McKenzie County comes in with 31.7% of the state’s production.

Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota were the top oil-producing states for the first quarter of 2026, although production showed a slight decrease. Other top producing states are Colorado, Oklahoma, Alaska, California, Wyoming, Utah and Louisiana.

Anderson said total U.S. rig count stands at 562, with 46% of the rigs in Texas. Currently, 28 rigs are working in the Williston Basin, including 26 in North Dakota and two in Montana.

The number of wells recently permitted include 93 in May, 83 in April and 60 in March. Completion trends include 55 in May, 49 in April and 55 in March.

The total number of producing wells is down one, month over month, according to the report. Producing wells were at an all-time high of 19,643 in March.

Fort Berthold Reservation produced 150,666 barrels of oil per day in April, a 0.05% increase or increase of 790 barrels of oil per day. In March, the reservation produced 149,876 barrels of oil per day. No rigs were working on the reservation. The total active permits for the reservation is 137, a decrease from last month, and 3,020 wells are active.

The statewide gas flared from March to April increased by 31.9 million cubic feet per day (MMCF/D) to 161.9 MMCF/D. The statewide gas capture decreased slightly to 95.5% while Bakken gas capture decreased to 95.7%, according to Anderson.