Friday, October 9, 2026

Report 19611 approved a single new permit, Continental's Billings 7-16H in Williams County, a confidential well outside its spacing unit. The more notable entry is administrative: 20 saltwater disposal wells in Divide, Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail and Burke counties changed operator. Hess Bakken Investments II was granted confidential status on one McKenzie County well.

Highlights

1 permit approved: Continental Resources, Billings 7-16H, Williams County (confidential, outside spacing unit)
20 saltwater disposal wells changed operator (Divide 7, Williams 7, McKenzie 3, Mountrail 2, Burke 1)
1 well approved for confidential status: Hess Bakken Investments II, McKenzie County
1 well released from confidential status: Devon, Mountrail County
3 confidential wells reported plugged or producing: Hunt Oil (Burke), EOG Resources (Mountrail) and Oasis (Dunn County)
1 permit correction: Oasis, Potter 4595 33-29 6B, Dunn County

The report lists an active daily rig count of 34 (unchanged from the prior report).

What it means for mineral owners: Disposal-well ownership affects who handles produced water in an area; it does not change royalty on the oil wells, but it can matter to surface owners near the sites.

Read the official report (PDF)

Summarized by Fort Union from the Commission's daily activity report; entries shown are a selection, not the full list. The official PDF controls. See also all daily reports and the NDIC News RSS feed.