North Dakota Active Rig Count
37 drilling rigs are working in North Dakota right now, filed under 22 operator names across 8 counties. The list comes off the North Dakota Industrial Commission's active rig report, so this is what the state has on the board, not a number somebody remembered from last month.
The work is concentrated where it always is. McKenzie (11), Williams (11), Divide (5). Between them those 3 counties hold 27 of the 37 rigs turning in the Williston Basin.
Rig count is the number that moves first. A rig turning means somebody already signed the contract and committed the money, and it means water, roustabouts, hot oil, vac trucks, sand and wireline all follow behind it within weeks. If you want to see where each one sits, the rig map plots them. If you want to know what the work pays once it shows up, the North Dakota pay index breaks it out by seat.
Daily History
Every day the state has put a count in writing since February 2023, plus our own reads of the live list since. It stays free to read.
950 readings, Feb 1, 2023 to Oct 22, 2026. Averaged by year that is 38.6 rigs in 2023, 37.9 in 2024, 31.8 in 2025, 28.2 in 2026. The high across the whole series is 47, first on Feb 1 and last on Mar 24, 2023. The low is 19, on Apr 15, 2026.
The last report on it, Oct 22, stated 37. That is and that is the high of 2026 so far, and 9 above the 2026 average of 28.2.
By Year
| Year | Days Read | Average | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 230 | 38.6 | 31 | 47 |
| 2024 | 251 | 37.9 | 32 | 43 |
| 2025 | 250 | 31.8 | 25 | 37 |
| 2026 | 219 | 28.2 | 19 | 37 |
The last 30 readings, day by day
| Date | Rigs | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 22 | 37 | Active list |
| Oct 21 | 37 | Active list |
| Oct 20 | 37 | Active list |
| Oct 19 | 36 | Active list |
| Oct 18 | 36 | Active list |
| Oct 17 | 36 | Active list |
| Oct 16 | 35 | Active list |
| Oct 15 | 35 | Active list |
| Oct 14 | 35 | Active list |
| Oct 13 | 34 | Active list |
| Oct 12 | 36 | Active list |
| Oct 11 | 33 | Active list |
| Oct 10 | 33 | Active list |
| Oct 9 | 34 | Active list |
| Oct 8 | 34 | Active list |
| Oct 7 | 33 | Active list |
| Oct 6 | 36 | Active list |
| Oct 5 | 35 | Active list |
| Oct 4 | 35 | Active list |
| Oct 3 | 35 | Active list |
| Oct 2 | 34 | Active list |
| Oct 1 | 34 | Active list |
| Sep 30 | 33 | Active list |
| Sep 29 | 30 | Active list |
| Sep 28 | 32 | Active list |
| Sep 27 | 29 | Active list |
| Sep 26 | 29 | Active list |
| Sep 25 | 30 | Active list |
| Sep 24 | 30 | Active list |
| Sep 23 | 31 | Active list |
Two readings of the same thing. Daily report is the active rig count the state states on its Daily Activity Report, which is published on business days only, so a weekend or a state holiday is a day with no report rather than a day with no rigs. Active list is counted off the state's live rig list, which is where the rig tables on this page come from. The series starts Feb 1, 2023, because that is the first report carrying a stated count. Nothing before it has been sourced and nothing before it is plotted. Every reading we have taken since is kept, all 950 of them, and this page is rebuilt off that store every night.
We wrote up the July to August climb, ten rigs back to work.
Rigs By Operator
Who is actually running iron in the state today. Worth a look before you put an application in with somebody, because a company with no rigs turning is not adding crews.
The first column is the name the state prints, which is the entity that files the paperwork. That is often not who signs the checks anymore. The second column is who actually owns it.
The full list, operator by operator
| Filing Entity | Owned By | Rigs |
|---|---|---|
| Devon Energy Williston, LLC | — | 4 |
| Phoenix Operating LLC | — | 4 |
| Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP | ConocoPhillips | 3 |
| Hess Bakken Investments II LLC | Chevron | 3 |
| Continental Resources Inc | — | 2 |
| Enerplus Resources USA Corporation | Chord Energy | 2 |
| Koda Resources Operating LLC | — | 2 |
| Kraken Operating, LLC | — | 2 |
| XTO Energy Inc | ExxonMobil | 2 |
| EOG Resources, Inc. | — | 1 |
| Formentera Operations LLC | — | 1 |
| Hunt Oil Company | — | 1 |
| Marlo Operating Company, LLC | — | 1 |
| Oasis Petroleum North America LLC | — | 1 |
| Petro-Hunt LLC | — | 1 |
| Rockport Energy Solutions LLC | — | 1 |
| Silver Hill Energy Operating LLC | — | 1 |
| Slawson Exploration Company Inc | — | 1 |
| True Oil LLC | — | 1 |
| Wesco Operating, INC | — | 1 |
| Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation | Chord Energy | 1 |
| Zavanna Energy Operating LLC | — | 1 |
Rigs By Parent Company
The same 37 rigs rolled up to the company that actually owns them. This is the picture the raw state list does not show you.
The full list, company by company
| Company | Rigs |
|---|---|
| Devon Energy Williston, LLC | 4 |
| Phoenix Operating LLC | 4 |
| Chevron | 3 |
| Chord Energy | 3 |
| ConocoPhillips | 3 |
| Continental Resources Inc | 2 |
| ExxonMobil | 2 |
| Koda Resources Operating LLC | 2 |
| Kraken Operating, LLC | 2 |
| EOG Resources, Inc. | 1 |
| Formentera Operations LLC | 1 |
| Hunt Oil Company | 1 |
| Marlo Operating Company, LLC | 1 |
| Oasis Petroleum North America LLC | 1 |
| Petro-Hunt LLC | 1 |
| Rockport Energy Solutions LLC | 1 |
| Silver Hill Energy Operating LLC | 1 |
| Slawson Exploration Company Inc | 1 |
| True Oil LLC | 1 |
| Wesco Operating, INC | 1 |
| Zavanna Energy Operating LLC | 1 |
Chord is the clearest example. It shows up on the state list twice, as Enerplus Resources USA Corporation and as Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation, because it absorbed both. Whiting merged with Oasis in July 2022 to create Chord, and Chord closed on Enerplus in May 2024. Counted separately they look like 2 small operators. Counted properly it is 3 rigs under one company.
Chevron is here as Hess Bakken Investments, the affiliate Hess has always operated its North Dakota wells through. Chevron closed the $53 billion Hess acquisition in July 2025 and the entity name stayed. Burlington Resources has been a ConocoPhillips company since 2006, and XTO has been ExxonMobil since 2010.
8 of the 37 rigs in this state are being run by a major. That is not what the operator list looks like at a glance.
Rigs By Drilling Contractor
The operator holds the lease and pays for the well. The drilling contractor owns the iron and employs the crew that turns it. Two different companies, and hands mix them up constantly. The state's list carries both, because the name in the rig column is the contractor's, not the operator's.
The 3 biggest fleets run 28 of the 37 rigs turning in this state: Nabors Industries, Patterson-UTI and Helmerich & Payne (H&P). If you are chasing a drilling seat, this is the column that matters, because the contractor is who hires the floorhands, derrickhands and drillers. The operator does not.
| Contractor | Rigs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Nabors Industries | 15 | 41% |
| Patterson-UTI | 9 | 24% |
| Helmerich & Payne (H&P) | 4 | 11% |
| Stoneham Drilling | 3 | 8% |
| T&S Drilling | 2 | 5% |
| CAPSTAR | 1 | 3% |
| ND ENERGY | 1 | 3% |
| Noble Drilling | 1 | 3% |
| True Drilling | 1 | 3% |
Helmerich & Payne (H&P)
H&P prints on the state list as H & P plus a three digit rig number. The count above is the North Dakota fleet only. H&P runs rigs in several basins and most of that fleet is not in this state, so if you are looking at the company nationwide this page answers the Bakken slice of it and nothing more.
Patterson-UTI
The state prints these as PATTERSON plus the rig number. Same caveat as above, this is North Dakota only.
Nabors Industries
Nabors rig names carry a letter before the number, B and X series both, and the state list is inconsistent about capitalising it. They are the same fleet and are counted together here.
Every Rig Turning In North Dakota Today
Each rig on the state's active list, who owns the iron, who it is drilling for, and what county it sits in. A rig on this list is a well being drilled, not a well producing. Where each one sits on a map is on the rig map.
The full list, rig by rig
| Rig | Contractor | Drilling For | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| NABORS B 12 | Nabors Industries | Kraken Operating, LLC | Williams |
| NABORS B 13 | Nabors Industries | Devon Energy Williston, LLC | McKenzie |
| NABORS B17 | Nabors Industries | Devon Energy Williston, LLC | McKenzie |
| NABORS B21 | Nabors Industries | Hunt Oil Company | Mountrail |
| NABORS B23 | Nabors Industries | Formentera Operations LLC | Burke |
| NABORS B26 | Nabors Industries | Oasis Petroleum North America LLC | McKenzie |
| NABORS B27 | Nabors Industries | Silver Hill Energy Operating LLC | Burke |
| NABORS B6 | Nabors Industries | Devon Energy Williston, LLC | McKenzie |
| NABORS X-10 | Nabors Industries | Hess Bakken Investments II LLC | Mountrail |
| NABORS X25 | Nabors Industries | Slawson Exploration Company Inc | Williams |
| NABORS X27 | Nabors Industries | Hess Bakken Investments II LLC | Williams |
| NABORS X28 | Nabors Industries | Zavanna Energy Operating LLC | Williams |
| NABORS X8 | Nabors Industries | Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP | McKenzie |
| NABORS b20 | Nabors Industries | Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP | Dunn |
| NABORS x24 | Nabors Industries | Hess Bakken Investments II LLC | Williams |
| PATTERSON 268 | Patterson-UTI | Phoenix Operating LLC | Divide |
| PATTERSON 276 | Patterson-UTI | Phoenix Operating LLC | Divide |
| PATTERSON 280 | Patterson-UTI | Phoenix Operating LLC | Divide |
| PATTERSON 286 | Patterson-UTI | Enerplus Resources USA Corporation | Dunn |
| PATTERSON 288 | Patterson-UTI | Continental Resources Inc | Williams |
| PATTERSON 290 | Patterson-UTI | Rockport Energy Solutions LLC | McKenzie |
| PATTERSON 297 | Patterson-UTI | Continental Resources Inc | Williams |
| PATTERSON 806 | Patterson-UTI | Enerplus Resources USA Corporation | Williams |
| PATTERSON 808 | Patterson-UTI | Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation | McKenzie |
| H & P 259 | Helmerich & Payne (H&P) | EOG Resources, Inc. | Mountrail |
| H & P 429 | Helmerich & Payne (H&P) | XTO Energy Inc | McKenzie |
| H & P 603 | Helmerich & Payne (H&P) | Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company LP | Dunn |
| H & P 640 | Helmerich & Payne (H&P) | XTO Energy Inc | Williams |
| STONEHAM 16 | Stoneham Drilling | Koda Resources Operating LLC | Divide |
| STONEHAM 17 | Stoneham Drilling | Koda Resources Operating LLC | Divide |
| STONEHAM 18 | Stoneham Drilling | Petro-Hunt LLC | Billings |
| T&S DRILLING 1 | T&S Drilling | Kraken Operating, LLC | Williams |
| T&S DRILLING 2 | T&S Drilling | Phoenix Operating LLC | McKenzie |
| CAPSTAR 329 | CAPSTAR | Wesco Operating, INC | McKenzie |
| ND ENERGY 20 | ND ENERGY | Marlo Operating Company, LLC | Bowman |
| NOBLE 4 | Noble Drilling | Devon Energy Williston, LLC | Williams |
| TRUE 36 | True Drilling | True Oil LLC | McKenzie |
Rigs By County
Where the drilling is. This is the honest map of where a hand ought to be looking for a place to live. Each county opens the rig map filtered to it.
| County | Rigs |
|---|---|
| McKenzie County | 11 |
| Williams County | 11 |
| Divide County | 5 |
| Dunn County | 3 |
| Mountrail County | 3 |
| Burke County | 2 |
| Billings County | 1 |
| Bowman County | 1 |
What Changed
Which operators picked up or dropped a rig between the last two reads, and which counties it moved in. This comes off our own daily snapshots. The weekly national count gives you one number with no names on it.
Oct 21 to Oct 22, the count went flat, 37 to 37. No operator on the list added or dropped a rig.
Where The Number Comes From
The North Dakota Industrial Commission publishes an active rig list showing every rig currently drilling in the state, with the operator, the rig, the well and the county. We read that list daily and store the count.
Three things worth knowing so you read it right. A rig that is rigging up or moving between locations may drop off the list for a day, which is why the number wobbles by 1 or 2 without anything real changing. A rig turning is not the same as a frac crew working, because drilling comes first and completions come weeks later. And the operator names are legal filing entities, not brands, which is why a company you have never heard of can turn out to be a major.
Why Baker Hughes Shows A Different Number
Look this up and you will find Baker Hughes, and the sites that republish Baker Hughes, showing a North Dakota number that often does not match the state's. Some weeks theirs is lower, some weeks it is higher. Both are counting honestly. They are not counting the same thing.
Baker Hughes publishes its rule. A rig counts for them only if it is on location and turning to the right at least 4 out of 7 days in the week. It is active from the day it spuds until it reaches total depth. Rigs in transit, rigs rigging up, and rigs on workovers, completions or production testing are all excluded. Their FAQ says as much about everybody else's numbers too: other counts may include rigs that are available, contracted, or working but not drilling the way Baker Hughes defines it. That is their definition, in their words.
The state does not publish a rule. NDIC posts an active rig list every day and overwrites it, carrying the rig, the operator, the well, the county and the API number. So what we can tell you is what the list is. What its cutoffs are is not documented anywhere, and we are not going to invent a state definition to make the comparison come out even.
The honest conclusion is the plain one. Baker Hughes is a weekly count run on a published rule. The state's list is what is on the board the day it gets read. Two different ways of counting will not always land on the same number, and which one comes out higher can flip from one week to the next. Neither is wrong. If you are watching for work rather than trading on it, the state list is the one that names the operator and the county.
Use This Data
The rig data behind this page is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Use it in an article, a chart, a report or a spreadsheet, commercially or not. The one thing the licence asks is that you say where it came from.
Attribution line: Source: The Dirty Hands Report, dirtyhandsoil.com
Two files, both JSON, both served straight off this site. rig-history.json is the daily series, running from February 2023, and every row carries a source saying whether that day was the count the state stated in words on its daily report or a count taken off the active list. rig-snapshot.json is the most recent read on its own, rig by rig, carrying the rig, the operator, the county, the well, the NDIC file number, the spud date and the coordinates.
No key, no sign up and nothing to agree to. If you are building something that needs a field we do not carry, tell us what it is.
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The chart updates itself every business day. Paste the code where you want it. It shows up as a picture and links back to this page, which covers the credit the licence asks for.
