Bakken
The Bakken footprint produced 453.0 MMbbl of oil and 1.31 Tcf of natural gas in 2025. 26,054 producing wells tracked, trailing 12 months per region.
- Third-largest of the US supply areas by oil, 2025.
- 9.1% of the oil produced in the United States, 2025.
- Oil production fell 2% in 2025 from 2024.
Production
- filling in (est. · missed) . Hatching marks our estimate of the volume still to be filed. That estimate draws on our own production forecast. A check on the forecast behind this estimate measured a miss. It updates as filings arrive
- estimated . Hatching marks our estimate. In the most recent months that is volume still to be filed. Past the divider it is our estimate of each whole month, built on any filings already in. Beyond the last filings it is our forecast.
In this view, hatching marks our estimate, and in the most recent months that is volume still to be filed. Past the divider, the chart continues only the bands it has drawn. Each band continues as our estimate, from any filings already in and then from our forecast, built by summing our per-well forecasts. The method behind each well is recorded with the forecast. The forward months cover existing wells only. How our methods work
All from what the source published. All held at well grain.
How the volume breaks down
- 99.98% Reported by the official source by well
- under 0.01% A series adjusted to match figures the official source published: a well's cumulative, a later correction netted into the months before it, or a field's oil volume from the royalty file for a month missing from the production report.
- 0.01% Filed with the official source, which withheld this period's production figure for one stream. That stream carries a placeholder zero.
Every barrel through July 2026 starts from what the official source published for those months. Measured over January 1986 to July 2026.
- filling in (est. · missed) . Hatching marks our estimate of the volume still to be filed. That estimate draws on our own production forecast. A check on the forecast behind this estimate measured a miss. It updates as filings arrive
- estimated . Hatching marks our estimate. In the most recent months that is volume still to be filed. Past the divider it is our estimate of each whole month, built on any filings already in. Beyond the last filings it is our forecast.
In this view, hatching marks our estimate, and in the most recent months that is volume still to be filed. Past the divider, the chart continues only the bands it has drawn. Each band continues as our estimate, from any filings already in and then from our forecast, built by summing our per-well forecasts. The method behind each well is recorded with the forecast. The forward months cover existing wells only. How our methods work
All from what the source published. All held at well grain.
How the volume breaks down
- 100% Reported by the official source by well
- under 0.01% A series adjusted to match figures the official source published: a well's cumulative, a later correction netted into the months before it, or a field's oil volume from the royalty file for a month missing from the production report.
- under 0.01% Filed with the official source, which withheld this period's production figure for one stream. That stream carries a placeholder zero.
Every cubic foot through July 2026 starts from what the official source published for those months. Measured over January 1986 to July 2026.
The bands group wells by when they first produced.
About this chart
The stack shows what is holding today's rate up and how much of it is new drilling. In the reported months the bands draw the filings already in. The months still filling in are marked.
Annual table (full history)
| Year | Oil (MMbbl) | Gas produced (Bcf) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 453.0 | 1,307 |
| 2024 | 461.7 | 1,292 |
| 2023 | 451.7 | 1,224 |
| 2022 | 403.7 | 1,104 |
| 2021 | 420.7 | 1,107 |
| 2020 | 448.9 | 1,018 |
| 2019 | 536.7 | 1,099 |
| 2018 | 478.5 | 894 |
| 2017 | 408.1 | 725 |
| 2016 | 397.7 | 648 |
| 2015 | 455.0 | 627 |
| 2014 | 421.5 | 506 |
| 2013 | 338.9 | 392 |
| 2012 | 265.9 | 301 |
| 2011 | 173.7 | 204 |
| 2010 | 134.9 | 170 |
| 2009 | 104.0 | 154 |
| 2008 | 90.6 | 156 |
| 2007 | 76.4 | 137 |
| 2006 | 72.7 | 124 |
| 2005 | 64.9 | 115 |
| 2004 | 51.8 | 104 |
| 2003 | 44.3 | 96 |
| 2002 | 43.1 | 93 |
| 2001 | 43.0 | 87 |
| 2000 | 43.2 | 82 |
| 1999 | 43.1 | 80 |
| 1998 | 47.0 | 81 |
| 1997 | 47.1 | 77 |
| 1996 | 43.7 | 73 |
| 1995 | 40.7 | 73 |
| 1994 | 39.1 | 77 |
| 1993 | 42.7 | 82 |
| 1992 | 45.3 | 77 |
| 1991 | 49.0 | 79 |
| 1990 | 50.0 | 80 |
| 1989 | 50.7 | 76 |
| 1988 | 54.6 | 83 |
| 1987 | 57.7 | 90 |
| 1986 | 62.8 | 91 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Monthly table (last 24 months)
| Month | Oil (Mbbl) | Gas produced (MMcf) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06 | 36,265.5 | 110,456 |
| 2026-05 | 36,757.7 | 112,607 |
| 2026-04 | 36,054.2 | 108,700 |
| 2026-03 | 37,539.6 | 111,048 |
| 2026-02 | 33,612.6 | 98,082 |
| 2026-01 | 37,050.1 | 106,460 |
| 2025-12 | 37,139.3 | 107,463 |
| 2025-11 | 38,112.0 | 110,173 |
| 2025-10 | 38,884.9 | 114,284 |
| 2025-09 | 37,317.7 | 111,213 |
| 2025-08 | 38,572.2 | 114,000 |
| 2025-07 | 38,902.9 | 114,442 |
| 2025-06 | 37,231.2 | 107,955 |
| 2025-05 | 37,107.6 | 108,146 |
| 2025-04 | 37,201.8 | 107,690 |
| 2025-03 | 39,099.7 | 110,198 |
| 2025-02 | 34,405.5 | 94,724 |
| 2025-01 | 39,059.6 | 106,764 |
| 2024-12 | 39,380.9 | 108,545 |
| 2024-11 | 38,997.5 | 107,730 |
| 2024-10 | 38,799.0 | 109,312 |
| 2024-09 | 38,088.6 | 110,029 |
| 2024-08 | 38,647.0 | 112,770 |
| 2024-07 | 38,194.2 | 110,795 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Source: CommoVision · Bakken, data through September 2026.
Well map
- Oil 43,361
- Natural gas 4,705
- Undetermined 2,373
About this map
Undetermined means not enough signal to settle it. Producing wells are the ones that reported oil or gas in the trailing 12 months per region.
Type curves
31 of the drawn cohorts’ wells are not in these curves yet: each is still producing and joins its curve once it carries a forecast.
31 of the drawn cohorts’ wells are not in these curves yet: each is still producing and joins its curve once it carries a forecast.
Horizontal wells only. Average production per well, for wells grouped by when they first produced.
How these curves are built
Horizontal wells only: 20,225 of the 20,674 wells in these cohorts. Average daily production per well, for wells grouped by when they first produced. Includes every well of the cohort that is old enough at each month, except wells that are still active but not yet covered by our forecasts; those are left out of both the reported and forecast parts until they are. Wells that are shut in or have stopped producing count as zero, so the average reflects the whole group drawn, not just survivors. Rates are calendar-day (volume ÷ days in month). The cumulative axis accumulates those same monthly averages at the average month length. Months not yet fully reported are excluded. The 2010-2014 curve draws those years as one group. The chart opens on average daily rate against months on production, the rate on a log scale. The view control switches to rate against cumulative production per well, on the same log rate scale, or to cumulative production per well against months on production, on a linear scale. Every view draws the same cohorts from the same production history. Each cohort is solid through the last month all the wells in its curve sit inside fully reported data. Past it the dashed curve carries the same wells forward, on our forecast where a well’s own record ends, for up to five years. A dashed curve runs as far as at least nine in ten of its wells are accounted for. A well that is old enough but shut in still counts, as zero. The measured months are what these wells reported. In the forward months each well counts its own reported figure for each month it has one, our forecast for each month it has only that, and zero for the rest. The forward average counts every well in the curve. The drawn forecast runs up to five years past the measured months. Line thickness tracks how many wells each curve is drawn from. 158 wells are counted here but not shown on the age axis: they started producing in 1988 or earlier, too close to the start of our records for their region to verify their true age.
Cohort summary table
| First produced | Wells in curve | Peak oil (bbl/d per well) | Month-12 oil (bbl/d per well) | Cum oil in series (Mbbl per well) | Peak gas (Mcf/d per well) | Month-12 gas (Mcf/d per well) | Cum gas in series (Bcf per well) | Months in series | Wells old enough at last month in series | Forecast months drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 435 | 502 | — | 15.3 | 645 | — | 0.0 | 1 | 100% | 60 |
| 2025 | 850 | 890 | — | 151 | 1,185 | — | 0.2 | 8 | 100% | 60 |
| 2024 | 987 | 753 | 287 | 234 | 878 | 622 | 0.4 | 20 | 100% | 60 |
| 2023 | 1,074 | 718 | 260 | 255 | 933 | 627 | 0.5 | 31 | 100% | 60 |
| 2022 | 767 | 678 | 277 | 291 | 968 | 693 | 0.7 | 43 | 100% | 60 |
| 2021 | 694 | 691 | 289 | 320 | 1,026 | 715 | 0.8 | 55 | 100% | 60 |
| 2020 | 614 | 756 | 313 | 345 | 1,015 | 844 | 1.0 | 67 | 100% | 60 |
| 2019 | 1,301 | 713 | 240 | 333 | 944 | 601 | 0.9 | 80 | 100% | 60 |
| 2018 | 1,300 | 649 | 299 | 359 | 947 | 685 | 1.0 | 91 | 100% | 60 |
| 2017 | 1,000 | 620 | 265 | 350 | 865 | 578 | 0.9 | 103 | 100% | 60 |
| 2016 | 738 | 518 | 216 | 308 | 712 | 465 | 0.8 | 117 | 100% | 60 |
| 2015 | 1,570 | 405 | 177 | 282 | 491 | 303 | 0.6 | 129 | 100% | 60 |
| 2010-2014 | 8,864 | 366 | 145 | 259 | 364 | 172 | 0.4 | 139 | 100% | 60 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Source: CommoVision · Bakken type curves, per-well production by first-production cohort.
Top operators in the Bakken, 2025 best estimate incl. source-withheld
Top operators in the Bakken, 2025: full table
| Operator | Oil (Mbbl/d, 2025) | Gas produced (MMcf/d, 2025) | Share of output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chord Energy Corporation | 221.0 | 612.2 | 17.7% |
| Continental Resources | 188.7 | 648.4 | 15.7% |
| Devon Energy | 103.2 | 393.8 | 8.7% |
| Burlington Resources | 92.1 | 333.2 | 7.7% |
| ConocoPhillips | 76.3 | 176.3 | 5.9% |
| Hess Corporation (January to July) | 118.9 | 432.8 | 5.8% |
| Kraken Operating, LLC | 64.0 | 118.6 | 4.9% |
| XTO Energy | 52.3 | 185.3 | 4.4% |
| Chevron (February to December) | 68.8 | 259.6 | 4.4% |
| Petro-Hunt LLC | 32.0 | 93.7 | 2.6% |
| 104 other operators | 249.5 | 478.1 | 19.0% |
| Without a named operator | 41.6 | 95.8 | 3.2% |
Mbbl/d = thousand barrels per day · MMcf/d = million cubic feet per day (units).
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Top counties by 2025 production best estimate incl. source-withheld
| County | Oil (MMbbl) | Gas produced (Bcf) | Share of 2025 output |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKenzie County, North Dakota | 133.4 | 571.5 | 34.1% |
| Williams County, North Dakota | 89 | 273.6 | 20.1% |
| Dunn County, North Dakota | 92.1 | 186.1 | 18.3% |
| Mountrail County, North Dakota | 80.9 | 190.7 | 16.8% |
| Richland County, Montana | 16.7 | 23.5 | 3.1% |
Share of output counts oil and gas together, gas at its market-value weight.
Recent permitting
About this chart
Approvals of every permit type per month, the 24 months to Oct 2026. The last bar is Oct 2026 through October 29, 2026 (87 so far), drawn hatched. Of the 1,155 approved in the 365 days to October 29, 2026, 1,081 are permits to drill a new well, 73 are other permit types and 1 is a permit to deepen, sidetrack or re-enter an existing well. Permits to drill a new well: 1,081 in the 365 days to October 29, 2026 and 266 in the last 90 days of that window. How permits are counted.
Most permits 365 days to October 29, 2026
- In the Bakken footprint, 1,155 well permits were approved in the 365 days to October 29, 2026. Of those, 291 came in the last 90 days of that window. The latest approval on record is dated October 29, 2026.
- Of the 1,155 approved in the 365 days to October 29, 2026, 1,081 are permits to drill a new well, 73 are other permit types and 1 is a permit to deepen, sidetrack or re-enter an existing well. Permits to drill a new well: 1,081 in the 365 days to October 29, 2026 and 266 in the last 90 days of that window.
- Permits counted here come from Montana and North Dakota.
Well permits approved per month: full table
| Month | Permits approved |
|---|---|
| Oct 2026 (through October 29, 2026) | 87 |
| Sep 2026 | 105 |
| Aug 2026 | 99 |
| Jul 2026 | 115 |
| Jun 2026 | 120 |
| May 2026 | 111 |
| Apr 2026 | 102 |
| Mar 2026 | 80 |
| Feb 2026 | 77 |
| Jan 2026 | 83 |
| Dec 2025 | 86 |
| Nov 2025 | 79 |
| Oct 2025 | 85 |
| Sep 2025 | 91 |
| Aug 2025 | 93 |
| Jul 2025 | 107 |
| Jun 2025 | 88 |
| May 2025 | 108 |
| Apr 2025 | 101 |
| Mar 2025 | 92 |
| Feb 2025 | 89 |
| Jan 2025 | 93 |
| Dec 2024 | 75 |
| Nov 2024 | 77 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Active drilling rigs
Interactive chart. Focus it and use the left and right arrow keys to read each week, Page Up and Page Down to move a year, Home and End for the ends of the series. The full figures are also in the table below.
- In the Bakken, 36 drilling rigs were active in the week to October 30, 2026 (6 more than a year earlier).
- Since Oct 2016, the weekly count peaked at 61 in Apr 2019.
- Rig locations are rolled up to this supply area's footprint, and no rig counts toward two areas.
Average active rigs per month: full table
| Month | Oil-directed | Gas-directed | Miscellaneous | All rigs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 (through October 30, 2026) | 30.5 | 5 | 0 | 35.5 |
| Sep 2026 | 29.8 | 4.5 | 0 | 34.2 |
| Aug 2026 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Jul 2026 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| Jun 2026 | 27.8 | 0 | 0 | 27.8 |
| May 2026 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Apr 2026 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| Mar 2026 | 28.2 | 0 | 0 | 28.2 |
| Feb 2026 | 28.2 | 0 | 0 | 28.2 |
| Jan 2026 | 28.2 | 0 | 0 | 28.2 |
| Dec 2025 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Nov 2025 | 29.2 | 0 | 0 | 29.2 |
| Oct 2025 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Sep 2025 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| Aug 2025 | 29.2 | 1 | 0 | 30.2 |
| Jul 2025 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 31 |
| Jun 2025 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 31 |
| May 2025 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 32 |
| Apr 2025 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 33 |
| Mar 2025 | 32.2 | 1 | 0 | 33.2 |
| Feb 2025 | 32.2 | 1 | 0 | 33.2 |
| Jan 2025 | 33.2 | 1 | 0 | 34.2 |
| Dec 2024 | 35.4 | 1 | 0 | 36.4 |
| Nov 2024 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 35 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Formations
A cross-section through the North Dakota side of the Bakken, drawn across McKenzie County.
14 formations along a 54-mile line, west-southwest to east-northeast.
Every depth drawn here is our own estimate, built from the curated formation tops of North Dakota wells across the basin. The pale ribbon along each boundary shows how certain that depth is. Where the ribbon is wider, the depth is less certain.
How these sections are built
Each section follows one straight line across its county, and the map beside it shows where that line runs.
West is on the left.
The depth of each formation along the line is estimated from the depths at which North Dakota wells across the basin met that formation, as filed by their operators or as picked by the official source.
A formation is drawn where enough wells along the line place it and where it stands clear of the formation above or below.
Key numbers
Two ways to count these wells
Well counts are shown on two independent bases: rock-evidenced (a formation assignment backed by formation evidence on the well’s own record: the operator’s filing, its directional survey, or a published stratigraphic pick) alongside the total footprint (every well inside the area’s footprint definition). The two overlap heavily, but neither contains the other: rock evidence follows the formation wherever it was drilled, including outside the footprint. See the methodology for why we don’t infer play membership.
What we cover here
Each row names the grain a region’s production is held at. Where a source publishes at a coarser grain, the page says so.
| Data | Grain | Since | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana production | well | 1986-01 | ~96–100% of EIA |
| North Dakota production | well | 1951-04 | ~99–100% of EIA |
Benchmark cells compare our series with the EIA’s published estimates.
About the EIA comparison
The two are produced differently: the EIA estimates from a survey of the largest operators and a model built to anticipate late filings, while the series compared here are rebuilt from the source’s own records as they arrive. Recent months can differ without either being wrong; the methodology page explains both methods.
Coverage rows for the Bakken are regenerated at every build from the same catalog of sources the data is built from.
What the data shows
- The Bakken footprint produced 453.0 MMbbl of oil and 1.31 Tcf of natural gas in 2025.
- Oil production in the Bakken footprint peaked in 2019 at 536.7 MMbbl; 2025 output of 453.0 MMbbl ran at 84% of that peak.
- 25,040 wells carry a rock-evidenced Bakken formation assignment (a rock lens). The footprint is a separate geographic lens holding 50,451 wells of all formations and trajectories; the two overlap heavily but neither contains the other.
- The figures here start in 1986, when Montana filings begin. Before that only North Dakota reports, 74% of the area's volume at that point, so the earlier years are not drawn as the whole area.
- 26,054 producing wells tracked, trailing 12 months per region.
Footprint definition
| State | Counties in footprint |
|---|---|
| Montana | 5 |
| North Dakota | 15 |
The EIA Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) Bakken region county list.
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