North Dakota rig count rises to 39 with new Phoenix rig, two moves

In Bakken Wire's afternoon edition, live rig data showed North Dakota's active drilling rig count rose to 39 on Tuesday, adding one rig from the previous day and extending a gradual upward trend that has carried the Williston Basin fleet past its early-October level.

The daily increase was driven by a new Phoenix Operating LLC rig, PATTERSON 268, at location 160-97-19 in Divide County. The data showed no rigs removed from the active count and two rigs that moved location.

The week-over-week comparison shows the count is one rig higher than the 38 active rigs reported Oct. 27. Over a longer window, the count is four rigs higher than the 35 active rigs recorded Oct. 4. For Bakken operators and royalty owners, the trend points to a slowly building drilling pace after early autumn, though the daily move remains small enough that single-rig changes can swing the headline count.

The rig movements Tuesday included another Phoenix Operating LLC change. The company moved T&S DRILLING 2 to 146-98-31 in McKenzie County. OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA LLC moved NABORS B26 to 158-92-33 in Mountrail County.

Location changes are a routine part of basin activity. When a rig moves, it often indicates a shift from one well pad or lease to another, while the operator's total active rig count may remain unchanged. In Tuesday's data, the two moves did not reduce the fleet, because no rigs were removed. The net effect was a one-rig increase from the new Phoenix addition.

Divide County, where the new PATTERSON 268 rig is active, and Mountrail and McKenzie counties, where the moved rigs are now located, are among the core Williston Basin areas where Bakken development activity is tracked. The activity across these counties shows the current drilling pace is distributed rather than confined to a single county.

For royalty owners, a rising rig count can signal continued development interest, but the magnitude matters. The increase from 35 rigs a month ago to 39 rigs today reflects a gradual climb rather than a sharp expansion. The one-rig daily gain and two moves show operators are adding a crew while shifting rigs to new locations.

The active rig count is a closely watched indicator for operators and royalty owners because it reflects the number of rigs drilling at a given time. Rig counts are commonly used as a leading indicator of drilling activity, but they do not by themselves show how much oil or gas will be produced.

The data provides no additional information on well types, depths, completions, or production results. The active rig count remains the most immediate indicator of drilling activity in the Bakken, and the trend over the past month shows the basin's fleet has been slowly rebuilding from early October levels.