North Dakota Oil and Gas Wells Map
WellsMap USA maps 43,904 oil and gas wells in North Dakota, from NDIC Oil and Gas Division records (updated September 2026). 20,726 are listed as active and 19,627 as plugged, abandoned or never drilled. Wells are spread across 52 counties and 1,590 operators.
43,904Wells
20,726Active
34,126Oil wells
103Gas wells
North Dakota wells by type
| Type | Wells | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Oil & gas | 34,126 | 78% |
| Dry hole | 6,590 | 15% |
| Injection / disposal | 1,927 | 4.4% |
| Unknown type | 1,052 | 2.4% |
| Gas | 103 | 0.2% |
| Water | 95 | 0.2% |
| Storage | 9 | 0.0% |
| Monitoring | 2 | 0.0% |
North Dakota wells by status
| Status | Wells | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Active | 20,726 | 47% |
| Plugged | 12,982 | 30% |
| Cancelled / never drilled | 5,788 | 13% |
| Inactive / shut in | 1,409 | 3.2% |
| Unknown status | 1,002 | 2.3% |
| Abandoned | 857 | 2.0% |
| Permitted | 583 | 1.3% |
| Drilling | 335 | 0.8% |
| Temporarily abandoned | 222 | 0.5% |
Counties with the most oil and gas wells in North Dakota
| County | Wells | Active |
|---|---|---|
| McKenzie | 10,986 | 5,909 |
| Williams | 6,944 | 3,838 |
| Mountrail | 5,752 | 3,759 |
| Dunn | 5,238 | 3,429 |
| Bottineau | 2,535 | 567 |
| Burke | 2,107 | 522 |
| Billings | 1,987 | 488 |
| Divide | 1,893 | 918 |
| Bowman | 1,578 | 600 |
| Renville | 1,506 | 245 |
| Stark | 929 | 270 |
| Ward | 489 | 7 |
| Golden Valley | 378 | 77 |
| Slope | 365 | 31 |
| McLean | 232 | 46 |
| McHenry | 170 | 14 |
| Rolette | 57 | 0 |
| Burleigh | 53 | 0 |
| Mercer | 49 | 6 |
| Nelson | 46 | 0 |
Top oil and gas operators in North Dakota by well count
| Operator | Wells | Active |
|---|---|---|
| CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC. | 3,583 | 2,675 |
| HESS BAKKEN INVESTMENTS II, LLC | 2,904 | 1,753 |
| WHITING OIL AND GAS CORPORATION | 2,535 | 1,771 |
| DEVON ENERGY WILLISTON, L.L.C. | 2,347 | 1,947 |
| OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA LLC | 2,211 | 1,536 |
| BURLINGTON RESOURCES OIL & GAS COMPANY LP | 1,432 | 972 |
| XTO ENERGY INC | 1,406 | 952 |
| ENERPLUS RESOURCES USA CORPORATION | 1,357 | 1,000 |
| MARATHON OIL COMPANY | 1,328 | 1,041 |
| EOG RESOURCES, INC. | 1,286 | 589 |
| PETRO-HUNT, L.L.C. | 1,061 | 661 |
| SLAWSON EXPLORATION COMPANY, INC. | 782 | 534 |
| AMERADA HESS CORPORATION | 723 | 0 |
| COBRA OIL & GAS CORPORATION | 694 | 386 |
| FORMENTERA OPERATIONS, LLC | 560 | 315 |
| NEPTUNE OPERATING LLC | 515 | 424 |
| DENBURY ONSHORE, LLC | 479 | 270 |
| KRAKEN OPERATING, LLC | 464 | 396 |
| HUNT OIL COMPANY | 438 | 265 |
| LIME ROCK RESOURCES III-A, L.P. | 398 | 319 |
Largest oil and gas fields in North Dakota by well count
| Field | Wells |
|---|---|
| WILDCAT | 4,090 |
| CEDAR HILLS | 1,014 |
| SANISH | 1,000 |
| PARSHALL | 853 |
| LITTLE KNIFE | 704 |
| ANTELOPE | 666 |
| BEAVER LODGE | 625 |
| BANKS | 603 |
| BLUE BUTTES | 591 |
| SIVERSTON | 496 |
| ALGER | 489 |
| HEART BUTTE | 475 |
| CHARLSON | 469 |
| BIG BEND | 463 |
| TIOGA | 461 |
North Dakota wells drilled by decade
| Decade | Wells spudded |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 10 |
| 1930s | 4 |
| 1940s | 39 |
| 1950s | 2,529 |
| 1960s | 2,337 |
| 1970s | 2,289 |
| 1980s | 4,661 |
| 1990s | 1,548 |
| 2000s | 2,734 |
| 2010s | 15,552 |
| 2020s | 5,242 |
Based on the 36,945 wells with a recorded spud date.
About this data
Well locations, types and statuses come from public records published by NDIC Oil and Gas Division, retrieved September 2026. Counties missing from the source records are assigned from each well's location. Records can be incomplete or out of date; check with the regulator before relying on them.