North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 25 Amid Cautious Industry Outlook

The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota remained at 25 on Friday, May 22, with no additions, removals, or location changes reported since the previous day, according to live Bakken Wire data. The count is up three rigs from one week ago, when 22 were active, and is also three rigs higher than the level seen one month ago on April 22.

The current stability and modest recent increase in activity occur against a backdrop of sharply higher oil prices but continued operator caution. According to a Reuters report sourced by Bing News, U.S. oil operators in North Dakota remain hesitant to significantly increase drilling despite prices driven higher by the Iran War, questioning whether the price environment will last long enough to justify new investment.

Mark Bohrer, assistant director for the Oil and Gas Division of the North Dakota Industrial Commission, said most producers are sticking to budgets set at the end of last season, limiting any immediate drilling surge. He noted that output could still increase in the short term as more wells are completed and activity picks up, according to the same source.

Bohrer specifically stated that Continental Resources, the state's second-largest producer, had planned to add a drilling rig after laying one down earlier this year. He added that other companies may consider adding a few rigs if oil prices remain high. The report indicated that U.S. WTI crude settled at $96.60 on Friday, up 44.1% since the start of the war in late February.

Separate news summaries align with this outlook. Continental Resources plans to resume drilling in North Dakota this year after a pause due to low oil prices, according to a Bing News summary. Furthermore, the industry's focus on long-term efficiency was highlighted as thousands gathered in Bismarck this week for the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, which featured discussions on a "Bakken 2.0" plan to double the state's oil recovery.

The regulator's data cited in the Reuters report shows North Dakota had 26 active rigs in May, a figure consistent with April. The state also had 13 hydraulic fracture crews working. Oil production in North Dakota increased by 9,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March to 1,142,725 bpd, with Bakken and Three Forks production up 11,000 bpd from February. Operators brought 49 new wells online in March, and the pace of completions is expected to increase with more fracturing crews active.

Bohrer expects production in the nation's third-largest oil-producing state to remain stable in the coming months, with a potential for slight short-term increases.