Bakken Gas Pipeline Plan Advances Amid Surging US Rig Count

North Dakota energy officials are pushing a major new pipeline project as a critical solution to Bakken natural gas flaring, a move framed as essential to keeping oil investment in the state. The push comes as the national oil and gas rig count rises to its highest level in nearly a year, according to industry data.

At the 2026 Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, Justin Kringstad, executive director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, warned that without infrastructure solutions, producers will move capital to other opportunities. "Today’s producers will not allow flaring to ramp up to the levels it was years ago. They need to have a solution," Kringstad said, according to KFYR.

The proposed solution is the Bakken East project, a high-pressure pipeline that would run from Watford City to Fargo. It would be the first large-scale system built exclusively for North Dakota natural gas, according to the KFYR report. The plan calls for phase one, connecting Watford City to northern Bismarck, to be completed by November 2029. The full line to Fargo would be finished by November 2030.

Officials say the pipeline is key to the region's future. "North Dakota is so uniquely positioned that in ten years, success would be absolute abundance. We would have pipe connectivity from the west to the central to the east so that opportunities in the oil field can continue," said Kringstad. Experts cited in the report estimate a full system could generate more than a billion dollars a year in tax revenue and protect thousands of jobs by keeping oil rigs running.

The push for infrastructure comes as drilling activity accelerates nationwide. Baker Hughes reported Friday that the number of oil and gas rigs actively drilling in the U.S. jumped by 7 to 558, according to a Bing News summary. This marks the fifth consecutive weekly increase and the highest count since June 2025. The report noted the number of oil rigs specifically jumped by 10, the most in four years.

In related financial markets, new oil trading instruments are being developed. Intercontinental Exchange Inc., owner of the New York Stock Exchange, is working with OKX to launch perpetual oil futures contracts, according to a Rigzone summary. These contracts would never expire.

For Bakken operators, the converging trends highlight a critical juncture: rising national activity increases competition for capital, while local infrastructure constraints threaten to limit North Dakota's share. Kringstad identified the biggest hurdle for the Bakken East pipeline as getting all companies and commercial parties to reach an agreement. The pipeline would also benefit North Dakota’s power supply and industrial opportunities and connect new communities along the route to natural gas.