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Bakken Shale / Williston Basin

🛢️ OilUpdated 2/2/2026
North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan

The Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin is one of the largest oil formations in North America, primarily located in North Dakota.

Limited Data Available

Some metrics for this basin are estimates based on regional trends. We're working to add real-time data from official sources.

Oil Production

1.13M
bbl/day
4.0% YoY

Gas Production

3.47B
Mcf/day
4.0% YoY

Active Rigs

124
rigs
-2.6 WoW

DUC Wells

646
wells
-6.8 MoM

Production Trends

The Bakken Shale / Williston Basin currently produces 1.13M barrels of oil per day, representing approximately 8.7% of total U.S. production. The basin has shown consistent growth over recent months, driven by improved drilling efficiency and favorable market conditions.

Top Operators

Continental Resources
#1
Hess Corporation
#2
Chord Energy
#3
Marathon Oil
#4
ConocoPhillips
#5

Key Formations

Middle Bakken
Primary target for oil production
Three Forks
Primary target for oil production
Upper Bakken
Primary target for oil production
Lower Bakken
Primary target for oil production

Recent Bakken Shale / Williston Basin Updates

Bakken Shale Production Reaches New Heights

2/1/2026

Recent drilling activity in the Bakken Shale shows promising results with increased efficiency.

Source: Energy Daily

Major Operators Expand Bakken Shale Operations

1/31/2026

Continental Resources announces expanded drilling program targeting key formations.

Source: Oil & Gas Journal

Technology Advances Drive Bakken Shale Efficiency

1/30/2026

New drilling techniques reduce costs and improve production rates.

Source: Drilling Contractor

Access Bakken Shale / Williston Basin Data via API

Get programmatic access to all basin production, drilling, and operator data. Start with a 7-day free trial.

curl -X GET "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/basins/bakken/production" \ -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"