Hunt Oil Leads Daily Permits with Four New Mountrail Wells

The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources approved four new drilling permits on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, all filed by Hunt Oil Company in Mountrail County, according to the agency's daily activity report. The four permits are for wells in the prolific Parshall field.

The approved permits are for the McAlmond 155-89-32-20H 1, 2, and 3 wells at Lot 4 and Lot 3, and the Oakland 154-89-5-17H 1 at Lot 3. All are located in Mountrail County. The approvals signal continued development by Hunt in a core area of the Bakken formation.

Permit renewals dominated the day's filing activity, with ten applications submitted. Enerplus Resources USA Corporation and XTO Energy Inc. were the most active, accounting for seven of the renewal requests. Three of XTO's renewals for Prairie Federal wells in McKenzie County's Haystack Butte area are marked as 'Confidential' and note a "proposed drillback outside of spacing unit."

Similarly, three Enerplus renewals, for wells in Dunn and McKenzie counties, also cite proposed drillbacks or locations outside of established spacing units. These filings indicate operators are seeking regulatory flexibility to optimize well placement and recover additional resources from existing units.

Two permits were canceled. Enerplus Resources USA Corporation canceled permit #35060 for the Loggerhead well in McKenzie County. Koda Resources Operating, LLC, canceled permit #42593 for a well in Divide County.

One disposal well was reported as completed. Firebird Services, LLC, completed the Stanley East 1 SWD injection well in Mountrail County.

The report also listed seven permits that had their confidential status extended. Operators including Hess Bakken Investments II, Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation, Koda Resources Operating, and Oasis Petroleum North America LLC filed for continued confidentiality on these wells.

Three permits were released from confidential status, making their details public. Devon Energy Williston, L.L.C., had its Skaar well in McKenzie County's South Tobacco Garden field released. Two Oasis Petroleum North America LLC permits for Hoehn wells in the Elk field of McKenzie County were also released.

The day's activity underscores ongoing administrative and development work across the Williston Basin, with a focus on spacing unit optimizations and sustained permit management by major operators.