North Dakota Rig Count Drops to 34; Phoenix Operating Rig Released

The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota's Bakken formation fell by one to 34 on Friday, September 4, according to live data from Bakken Wire.

One rig was released from service, with no new rigs added and no rigs moving location. The rig removed was Phoenix Operating LLC's T&S DRILLING 2, which had been working at location 160-98 -13 in Divide County.

The current count of 34 rigs is down by two from the total of 36 active one week ago, on August 28. However, drilling activity has increased compared to a month prior; the state had 30 active rigs on August 5, representing a net gain of four rigs over the past month.

The broader North American drilling landscape showed mixed signals this week. According to Baker Hughes data reported by Bing News, the overall U.S. rig count held steady at 588 for the week ended September 4, unchanged from the previous week and up 51 units from the same time last year. The U.S. oil-directed rig count was 449, up two from a year ago, while gas-directed rigs fell by two to 130. The decline in the continental total was driven by Canada, where the rig count fell by seven units to 204.

Separately, federal permitting policy for oil development is in focus. The Bureau of Land Management proposed a new rule Friday aimed at fast-tracking permits for some projects in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), according to OilPrice.com. The proposal would create a standardized process for qualifying projects, with a goal of issuing decisions on rights-of-way and some drilling permits within 60 days. This follows a record NPR-A lease sale in March that generated over $163 million in revenue.

For Bakken operators, the local rig count remains in a range seen throughout the summer, with modest fluctuations week-to-week. The release of a single rig by Phoenix Operating in Divide County represents routine operational adjustments. The stability in the broader U.S. count, alongside continued high oil prices, suggests a maintained level of industry investment in key basins like the Bakken.