Four New Permits Approved, SOGC Cancels 13 in DMR Report

Four new drilling permits were approved by the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) in filings from Friday, May 15, 2026, according to the daily activity report. Oasis Petroleum North America LLC was the most active operator, securing three of the four new permits.

All three Oasis permits are for the Isabella 6093 pad in Burke County. Two wells, the Isabella 6093 43-36 2BX and 3B, are in the Gros Ventre field in Section 36-160N-93W. The third, the Isabella 6093 43-36 4BX, is in the adjacent Cottonwood field in the same section. The fourth permit was issued to Devon Energy Williston: L.L.C for the Lindvig North 14-15-16-17F 5H well in McKenzie County's CAMP field.

The report also detailed significant permit cancellations. SOGC, Inc. canceled 13 previously approved permits for a project in McKenzie County. The cancellations are all located in SE SE 3-147N-98W and include the Yauch 03-04-2H through 7TFH wells (six permits), the Horovitz 10-09-2H and 3TFH wells (two permits), and the Forest USA 2-2H through 5-2TFH wells (five permits).

Additional confidential status changes were filed for two wells. Hunt Oil Company filed for the Kandiyohi 159-90-5-17H-1 well in Burke County's Vanville field, and Kraken Operating, LLC filed for the McCabe 24-13 #6H well in McKenzie County's Rawson field. The nature of these status changes was not specified in the report.

The day's activity highlights a continued focus on the core Bakken counties, with new permits spread between McKenzie and Burke counties. The batch of cancellations by SOGC, Inc. represents a notable withdrawal of planned drilling activity for a single operator in a specific area of McKenzie County.