North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 34 as U.S. Total Remains Steady

The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota remained at 34 on Saturday, September 5, with no additions, removals, or location changes reported since Friday, according to Bakken Wire live data.

The current count represents a decrease of two rigs from one week ago, when 36 rigs were active on August 29. However, activity is up five rigs from the level seen a month ago on August 6, when 29 rigs were working.

Nationwide, the U.S. rig count was unchanged for the week ended September 4 at 588 units, according to Baker Hughes data reported by Bing News. The national count is up 51 rigs from the same period last year. The report noted that while Louisiana and Pennsylvania each lost one rig, Texas and Colorado each gained one. The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. was 449, up two from the previous year.

In contrast, North American drilling activity declined overall due to a drop in Canada. The combined U.S. and Canada count fell to 792 rotary rigs, driven by a 7-rig decline in Canada to 204 total working rigs.

The steady activity in North Dakota and the U.S. comes amid federal regulatory moves aimed at accelerating development in other oil-producing regions. On Friday, the Bureau of Land Management proposed a new rule to fast-track permitting for some oil and gas projects in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), according to OilPrice.com.

The BLM's proposal would create a standardized process to replace case-by-case reviews for qualifying projects, with a goal of issuing decisions on rights-of-way and some drilling permits within 60 days. The agency stated that decades of permitting work in the 23-million-acre reserve provide sufficient environmental data to streamline reviews for similar infrastructure.

This follows a record lease sale in the NPR-A in March 2026, which drew bids on 187 tracts and generated over $163 million in revenue. Major companies including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and a Repsol-Shell consortium were among the successful bidders. The proposed rule, which was prompted by a petition from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, is now entering a 60-day public comment period.

For Bakken operators, the regulatory focus on Alaska highlights the ongoing importance of permitting efficiency, even as drilling activity in the Williston Basin maintains a level significantly higher than the lows seen earlier in the decade.