Oil production drops slightly in May
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BISMARCK - North Dakota's oil production decreased about 16,000 barrels of oil a day or 1.44% in May, according to the most recent production numbers.
Nathan Anderson, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, released the report Wednesday, July 22. He said the state produced 34.875 million barrels of oil in May or 1.125 million barrels of oil per day.
In April, the state produced 34.242 million barrels of oil or 1.14 million barrels of oil per day.
The production was 2.17% below the revenue forecast, according to Anderson.
The majority of the production, 97.4%, is from the Bakken/Three Forks formations.
In May, the state produced 109.7 billion cubic feet (BCF) of natural gas or 3.53 BCF per day. In April, the state produced 105.5 BCF of natural gas or 3.518 BCF per day. This was a 0.56% increase from April to May.
The majority of the state's oil production, 33.4%, comes from McKenzie County, according to Anderson. He said McKenzie, Williams, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide remain the top five oil production counties, making up almost 97% of North Dakota oil production.
According to Anderson, during the first quarter of 2026 all of the top three oil-producing state - Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota - had a decline in production.
Currently, 24 rigs are actively drilling in North Dakota. A total of 27 rigs are drilling in the Williston Basin, an area including eastern Montana.
According to the report, well permits ranged from 83 in April, 93 in May and 85 in June while wells completed ranged from 49 in April, 55 in May and 65 in June.
The total number of producing wells is up 190, month over month, Anderson said. The number of inactive wells decreased by 126, month over month. Producing wells were at an all-time high of 19,832 in May.
The top five oil producers in North Dakota who account for 65.9% of the state's production in 2026 through May are Chord Energy (Enerplus, Oasis, Whiting), 32,212,915 (18.8%); Continental Resources, Inc., 23,410,763 (13.7%); ConocoPhillips (Burlington, Marathon), 22,690,513 (13.2%); Devon Energy Williston, L.L.C., 17,772,680 (10.4%); and Chevron (Hess Bakken Inv. II, LLC), 16,831,000 (9.8%).
Anderson reported Fort Berthold Reservation produced 158,144 barrels of oil in May, an increase of 7,478 barrels of oil per day or 5%. In April, the reservation produced 150,668 barrels of oil. Currently, no rigs were actively working on the reservation. The reservation has 131 active permits, a decrease from last month. There are 3,040 active wells.
The statewide gas flared volume from April to May increased by 5.3 million cubic feet per day (MMCF/D) to 167.2 MMCF/D, the statewide gas capture decreased slightly to 95.4% while Bakken gas capture decreased to 95.6%.
Justin Kringstad, executive director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, said one of the most interesting pieces of his report was information from the North Dakota Tax Department on how North Dakota wellhead pricing was compared to West Texas Intermediate (WTI).
“For the first time in recent history, it was a positive. We weren’t talking about a discount to WTI in May. It was a $2.56 premium that the wellhead was averaging,” he said.
“I had to look back at a bunch of records of EIA. I dug back and I had to go back to the 1980s to find a time period where there was a premium for North Dakota barrels,” Kringstad said.
“This is certainly an anomaly,” Kringstad said. “I don’t anticipate this to continue long term when we look at what pricing has been doing from that April-May timeframe to where it’s currently at. I’m expecting still relatively strong but I think we’ll be back into the discount territory relatively soon but again, a noteworthy event for the (Williston) Basin."