Bakken Rig Count Holds at 35 as New Rig Enters in Bowman County
Marlo Operating adds a new drilling rig in Bowman County, replacing a rig removed in Dunn County, while the state's active fleet remains steady week-over-week.
The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota remained unchanged on Friday, October 16, holding at 35, according to Bakken Wire live data. The count reflects one new rig added and one rig removed in the last 24 hours.
Marlo Operating Company, LLC, deployed the new ND ENERGY 20 rig to a location in Bowman County (129-103-19). The rig removed was the T&S DRILLING 3, operated by Henry Hill Oil Services, LLC, which was last active in Dunn County (146-92-24). No rigs were reported to have moved location.
The current activity level represents a slight increase over the past month. North Dakota's rig count is up by one from the 34 rigs active one week ago on October 9, and up by two from the 33 rigs active one month ago on September 16.
The state's steady activity contrasts with a modest pullback in oil-focused drilling nationally. According to data from Baker Hughes published Friday and reported by OilPrice.com, the total number of active oil rigs in the United States fell by 3 this week to 459. The overall U.S. rig count, however, was unchanged at 603. The report noted that the number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin fell by 2 to 272.
Despite the dip in active oil rigs nationally, well completion activity continues to rise. OilPrice.com cited Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, which estimates crews completing wells, rose for the fifth consecutive week. The count increased by 7 crews to 203 for the week ending October 9.
The national drilling activity is occurring against a backdrop of strong but volatile oil prices. OilPrice.com reported that on Friday, Brent crude was trading at $105.60 per barrel, down 0.30% on the day but up $2 from the previous week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $97.56, down 0.42% on the day but up nearly $6 from the week prior.
U.S. crude oil production showed a weekly decline, according to the latest Energy Information Administration data referenced by OilPrice.com. Production averaged 13.679 million barrels per day for the week ending October 9, down from 13.979 million bpd the previous week.
The stability in North Dakota's rig count suggests operators in the Bakken formation are maintaining a measured pace of development. The addition of a new rig in the southern region of the play, offset by a removal elsewhere, indicates ongoing optimization of drilling programs across the basin.
Source
Bakken Wire live rig data; OilPrice.com report from October 16, 2026, citing Baker Hughes, Primary Vision, and EIA data.
