North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 30, Up Sharply From Spring Levels

The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota's Bakken formation held steady at 30 on Monday, according to live data from Bakken Wire. The count showed no day-over-day change, with no new rigs added, removed, or relocated.

Despite the recent pause, the current activity level represents a significant increase from earlier in the spring. The rig count is up three rigs from one week ago and has climbed by seven rigs since the beginning of May.

The current stability in drilling activity unfolds against a backdrop of industry-wide focus on the Bakken's long-term future. According to a report from Bing News, oil and gas executives and state officials are pushing to develop enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies, which are billed as a way to potentially double recoverable oil and extend the life of North Dakota's fields by decades.

“We have a tremendous opportunity in the next two years, because we have an administration that understands this stuff. We have to get them to mobilize a little faster,” Governor Kelly Armstrong said at a May conference, as reported by Bing News. “Time is the enemy, but they understand this, and so we have gone from headwinds to tailwinds.”

However, executives caution that technological success is not guaranteed and hinges on economics. The industry is testing methods like injecting chemical surfactants or gases, including carbon dioxide, to repressure reservoirs and scrape more oil from rock.

“Future success is far from a given, it’s going to have to be earned,” said Danny Brown, CEO of Chord Energy, according to the same source. “But the reward is tremendous for this and for future generations.”

Charlie Gorecki, CEO of the University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center, noted the lack of a single solution, stating, “There’s not a silver bullet. We haven’t found one yet.” The profitability of these methods remains closely tied to oil prices, with past analysis showing operator caution even at high price levels.

“Economics are always going to rule the day,” said Pam Heatherington, general manager of ExxonMobil’s Americas division and CEO of Denbury, as reported by Bing News.

While North Dakota's industry focuses on next-generation recovery, political shifts elsewhere are also highlighting traditional drilling. Rigzone reported that Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice told energy companies his party would prioritize North Sea drilling to cut energy bills if it wins the upcoming UK general election, rather than focusing on green energy investments.

For the Bakken, the steady rig count suggests operators are maintaining a measured pace of development while the larger strategic push for EOR technologies continues to take shape, with its ultimate impact on future drilling activity still uncertain.