North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 34 Amid Major Pipeline FID
Bakken drilling activity remains steady, supported by recent approval of the $3 billion Bakken East natural gas pipeline project.
The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota held steady at 34 on Friday, according to live data from Bakken Wire. The count showed no change from the previous day, with no new rigs added, removed, or moved.
The current rig level represents a slight increase from one week ago, when 30 rigs were active, but remains three rigs below the count of 37 seen one month ago on September 2.
The steady drilling activity comes as major midstream infrastructure projects move forward. According to a report from P&GJ, WBI Energy, a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, reached a final investment decision on September 29 for the Bakken East Pipeline. The roughly $3 billion project is a 350-mile natural gas pipeline designed to move Bakken supplies across North Dakota.
The pipeline will have an initial design capacity of 1.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) and will run from the Bakken region in western North Dakota to near Fargo in the east. Parent company MDU Resources said its board approved construction after WBI Energy secured customer commitments.
"Reaching FID on the Bakken East Pipeline Project marks a significant milestone in our commitment to expanding critical natural gas infrastructure in the region," MDU Resources President and CEO Nicole A. Kivisto said, according to the source.
Construction is scheduled across the 2028-2030 seasons, with the pipeline entering service in two phases. The first phase, extending from the Bakken to central North Dakota, is targeted for completion in late 2029. The second phase, extending the system to near Mapleton, North Dakota, is targeted for late 2030.
The project received support from the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which voted unanimously in August 2025 to support the project with a firm capacity commitment of $50 million annually for 10 years.
In related policy news, Rigzone reported that a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators, including Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, Martin Heinrich, and Sheldon Whitehouse, released the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act on October 1. While details of the bill were not provided in the summary, such legislation often aims to streamline federal permitting processes, which could impact future energy infrastructure development.
For Bakken operators, the approval of the Bakken East Pipeline addresses long-standing constraints on natural gas takeaway capacity from the region. The added infrastructure is designed to allow Bakken natural gas production to reach customers in central and eastern North Dakota while adding transportation capacity to WBI Energy's existing system.
Source
Bakken Wire live rig data, P&GJ, Rigzone
