ND Rig Count Steady at 25 Amid Conference Optimism, Continental Return

North Dakota's active drilling rig count held steady at 25 on Saturday, May 23, 2026, according to Bakken Wire live data. There were no new rigs added, removed, or moved from the previous day.

The current count represents a slight increase from recent levels. It is up by three rigs from one week ago, when the state reported 22 active rigs on May 16, and is up by one rig from one month ago, when the count stood at 24 on April 23.

The stability in rig activity comes amid a wave of optimism and strategic announcements from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference held this week in Bismarck. According to a column from the Jamestown Sun, the conference focused on "cracking the code for Bakken 2.0," with a combined investment exceeding $100 million from the state, the Department of Energy, and private industry fueling research into enhanced oil recovery technologies to improve upon current recovery rates of less than 15%.

A significant announcement came from Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm, according to a report from the North Dakota Monitor. Hamm announced at the conference that the company plans to resume drilling in North Dakota before the end of the year, after a temporary pause announced in January marked the first time in 30 years Continental didn't have a rig operating in the state. Hamm did not give a firm number of rigs but said it would be "meaningful." He attributed the return to higher oil prices amid the war with Iran, stating a minimum price in the high $70s or low $80s is a "healthy range" for the industry.

The impact of those higher prices is reflected in the state's latest production data, according to a report from the Inforum. During the Department of Mineral Resources' monthly briefing on Friday, Assistant Director Mark Bohrer said North Dakota produced 1.142 million barrels per day in March, a near 1% increase from February. The number of producing wells reached a record high of 19,639 in March. Bohrer noted the West Texas Intermediate crude price was $101.02 per barrel on Friday, up sharply from around $60 per barrel when Hamm announced the drilling pause in January. North Dakota's market price for its oil was $84.33 per barrel in March.

Department of Mineral Resources Director Nathan Anderson, cited in the Monitor report, welcomed Hamm's announcement as good news for state revenues and said he had heard another company plans to pick up a rig as well. He stated the breakeven price for Bakken operators ranges from $50 to $65 per barrel.

The confluence of a steady, slightly rising rig count, a major producer's planned return to drilling, record-producing wells, and a focused industry push for next-generation recovery techniques paints a picture of a Bakken region leveraging current market conditions to fund its long-term technological future.