History in North Dakota and the Bakken
Written by Fort Union from the public sources listed below; bracketed numbers refer to that list.
A Williston position built by Grayson Mill
Devon's Bakken business is, in large part, the former Williston Basin business of Grayson Mill Energy. Grayson Mill bought Equinor's Bakken assets in North Dakota and Montana in 2021 for about $900 million, including about 242,000 net acres and associated midstream infrastructure; Equinor announced the sale on February 10, 2021 and said it completed on April 27, 2021 [1][2]. In March 2023 Ovintiv announced an agreement to divest the entirety of its Bakken assets for proceeds of about $825 million [3], and on June 12, 2023 it said it had closed the all-cash sale of those assets, 'the entirety of Ovintiv's Bakken position', to Grayson Mill Bakken, LLC [4]. Both purchases are part of Grayson Mill's North Dakota business that Devon later acquired.
The Devon acquisition
Devon announced the Grayson Mill deal on July 8, 2024 and completed it on September 27, 2024 [5][6]. Devon said the transaction was valued at $5 billion before purchase-price adjustments and added 307,000 net acres, 500 undrilled gross locations and 300 refrac candidates to its Williston Basin business [5]. Devon's SEC filings give final consideration of $5.022 billion: $3.567 billion in cash and 37.3 million Devon shares valued at $1.455 billion, with the allocation of the purchase price including $3.056 billion for proved and $1.771 billion for unproved oil and gas properties [7]. Trade coverage added that the infrastructure included about 950 miles of gathering systems, disposal wells and crude storage terminals, and that Devon expected the acquired properties to produce roughly 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (55% oil) in 2025 [6].
The operating entity in North Dakota records is 'Devon Energy Williston, L.L.C.', the name that appears on the Department of Mineral Resources' 2026 top-ten slide, where Devon is fourth with 29.13 million barrels (10.5% of North Dakota production) through August 2026 [8]. Owners who were paid by Grayson Mill, Equinor's North Dakota subsidiary or Ovintiv's Bakken entities before those deals should expect that successor paperwork and owner numbers may have changed.
Current activity
The DMR's active-rig list, as read on October 25, 2026, showed four rigs under Devon Energy Williston, L.L.C.: three in McKenzie County and one in Williams County [9]. The Industrial Commission's October 8, 2026 daily report approved Devon permits in Williams County, including five wells on a single pad in the Buford field and a well in the Hardscrabble field [10]. Bakken Wire reported that Devon released a rig from a Dunn County location on October 7, 2026 [11].
2026 portfolio change
On October 8, 2026, Devon announced an agreement to sell its Eagle Ford assets in Karnes, DeWitt and Gonzales counties, Texas, to Crescent Energy for $4.2 billion in cash, with closing expected around year-end 2026 and proceeds directed to share repurchases and debt reduction; Devon said the assets represent approximately 4% of its total production and described the sale as a direct outcome of its portfolio review [12]. We covered the item in our news feed (linked below). For Bakken mineral owners the practical point is that the sale does not involve North Dakota; Devon's Williston Basin business is unchanged by the announcement.
Relevant news and sources
The sources this history was drawn from, in the order they are first cited. Links were checked when this page was built.
- Equinor sells its US onshore assets in the Bakken — Equinor, Feb 10, 2021.
- Equinor completes sale of its US onshore assets in the Bakken — Equinor, Apr 27, 2021.
- Ovintiv to Acquire Core Midland Basin Assets (Form 8-K exhibit 99.1) — Ovintiv / SEC, Mar 2023.
- Ovintiv Announces Closing of Midland and Bakken Transactions — Ovintiv, Jun 12, 2023.
- Devon Energy Completes Strategic Acquisition in the Williston Basin — Devon Energy / GlobeNewswire, Sep 27, 2024.
- Devon Completes $5 Billion Williston Basin Acquisition — Rigzone, Sep 30, 2024.
- Devon Energy Form 10-K, note on the Grayson Mill purchase price allocation — SEC (XBRL), filed 2026.
- Director's Cut, October 2026: Top 10 oil producers in ND (slide 18) — ND Department of Mineral Resources, Oct 20, 2026. Year-to-date oil production through August 2026.
- Active Drilling Rig List — ND Department of Mineral Resources, read Oct 25, 2026. Live page that changes daily; counts quoted here are as read on Oct 25, 2026.
- NDIC Daily Report no. 19610 — ND Industrial Commission, Oct 8, 2026.
- North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 33 After Three Rigs Dropped — Bakken Wire, Oct 7, 2026.
- Devon Energy Announces Agreement to Exit the Eagle Ford for $4.2 Billion — Devon Energy, Oct 8, 2026.
Related items in the Fort Union news feed
Logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify each company; their use does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by Fort Union Minerals. Ranking basis: 2026 year-to-date oil production through August, million barrels; source: North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, Director's Cut (October 20, 2026), slide 18.
