Hunt Oil Leads Daily Permits with Five New Mountrail Wells

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources approved five new drilling permits and renewed seven existing permits in filings dated Monday, May 18, 2026, according to the DMR Daily Activity Report. All new permits were filed by Hunt Oil Company for wells in Mountrail County.

Hunt Oil Company's five approved permits are for wells in the Parshall field. The permits include the Oakland 154-89-33-28H- 1, 2, and 3 wells, and the Severance 153-89-4-9H- 3 and 4 wells, all located at LOT 4 in Mountrail County, according to the report. This concentrated activity signals continued development in a core area of the Bakken formation.

Seven permits were renewed by two operators. Lime Rock Resources III-A, L.P. renewed three permits in Dunn County. These include the Robert Sadowski 8-2-35H-142-96 and 9-2-35H-142-96 wells in the Manning field, and the Harlan Rebsom 2-2-11H-143-95L well in the Murphy Creek field, which is noted as a proposed drillback outside of the spacing unit, according to the report.

Silver Hill Energy Operating, LLC renewed four permits in Williams County. These include the Tank E 156-98-1-12-10MBH well in the Wheelock field and three Haustveit wells (155-95-12-13-1MBH, 155-95-12-13-3MBH, and Haustveit Federal 158-94-34-33-4MBH) in the Capa field. All three Haustveit permits are listed as proposed drillbacks outside of the spacing unit, according to the report.

The report also listed several filings with additional information or confidential status changes. Enerplus Resources USA Corporation filed for the MHA Vail 4994 42-31 4T well in McKenzie County. Devon Energy Williston, L.L.C filed for the Ruby State 36-25F 6H well in McKenzie County. Phoenix Operating LLC filed for three Afseth wells (34-3-10 2HF, 3HF, and 4HF) in Mountrail County.

Three wells operated by Hess Bakken Investments II, LLC were released from confidential status. The BW-Wilson-149-99-3625H-4, 5, and 6 wells, located in the Juniper field of McKenzie County, are no longer confidential, according to the report. The release of confidential status typically follows the completion of initial drilling or testing phases, making the well data publicly available.

The daily activity shows permits focused on Mountrail, Dunn, Williams, and McKenzie counties, key regions within the Williston Basin. The "proposed drillback" designations on several renewals indicate operators are planning to drill additional wells from existing pads, a common technique to maximize resource recovery and operational efficiency in the Bakken.