The largest oil and gas operators active in Montana — ranked by total well count, with producing-well counts for each. Click any operator to see their full profile.
Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data. Refreshed daily. Data current as of 2026-10-04.
Quick answer: By wells operated, Ridge Oil & Gas is the largest oil and gas operator in Montana with 2,769 wells on record, followed by Fidelity Exploration & Production Company (1,610) and Northwestern (1,601). Ranked from Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data (as of 2026-10-04). This is an operated-well-count ranking, not a revenue or market-cap ranking.
As of 2026-10-04, the largest operator by wells on record in Montana is Ridge Oil & Gas with 2,769 wells on record, across the top 100 ranked operators, per Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data.
| # | Operator | Wells | Producing | Top Formation | Top County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ridge Oil & Gas | 2,769 | 2,758 | Bowdoin-Greenhorn | Phillips |
| 2 | Fidelity Exploration & Production Company | 1,610 | 1,165 | Powder River Basin | Big Horn |
| 3 | Northwestern | 1,601 | 1,422 | Niobrara Fm | Blaine |
| 4 | Mmgl Mt I, LLC | 1,121 | 932 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 5 | Somont Oil Company | 1,006 | 848 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 6 | New Horizon Resources | 933 | 602 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 7 | Mcr | 581 | 445 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 8 | Denbury Onshore | 538 | 311 | Powder River Basin | Powder River |
| 9 | Montana Power Company | 517 | 50 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 10 | Brown J Burns Operating Company | 516 | 88 | Niobrara Fm | Blaine |
| 11 | Morning Star Oil Company | 496 | 482 | Bakken | Richland |
| 12 | Continental Resources | 494 | 373 | Bakken | Richland |
| 13 | Texaco Exploration And Production | 486 | 14 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 14 | Montalban Oil Etal | 434 | 374 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 15 | A B Energy | 380 | 374 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 16 | True Oil | 377 | 42 | Central Montana Uplift | Musselshell |
| 17 | Shell Oil Company | 366 | 14 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 18 | Ocean Energy | 327 | 54 | Niobrara Fm | Hill |
| 19 | Devon Energy Production Company | 318 | 79 | Niobrara Fm | Hill |
| 20 | Kraken Operating | 287 | 229 | Williston Basin | Richland |
| 21 | Keesun | 285 | 194 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 22 | Fx Drilling Company | 280 | 164 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 23 | Cardinal Petroleum | 272 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 24 | Klabzuba Oil & Gas | 271 | 106 | Niobrara Fm | Hill |
| 25 | White Rock Oil & Gas | 244 | 224 | Bakken | Richland |
| 26 | Summit Gas Resources | 243 | 164 | Powder River Basin | Big Horn |
| 27 | Balko | 220 | 189 | Sweetgrass Arch | Pondera |
| 28 | Norfolk Energy | 219 | <3 | Niobrara Fm | Blaine |
| 29 | Conocophillips Company | 217 | 9 | Heath Fm | Rosebud |
| 30 | H&R Energy | 215 | 201 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 31 | Union Oil Company Of California | 211 | 21 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 32 | Phillips Petroleum Company | 205 | 5 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 33 | Wbi Energy Transmission | 203 | 6 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 34 | Equitable Resources Exploration | 189 | 22 | Sweetgrass Arch | Pondera |
| 35 | Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company | 187 | 35 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 36 | Encore Operating | 185 | 39 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 37 | Ranck Oil Company | 181 | 150 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 38 | Western Natural Gas Company | 179 | 97 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 39 | Powder River Gas | 165 | 0 | Powder River Basin | Powder River |
| 40 | High Crest Oils | 162 | <3 | Niobrara Fm | Hill |
| 41 | Citation Oil & Gas | 160 | 122 | Niobrara Fm | Blaine |
| 42 | Quicksilver Resources | 154 | 63 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 43 | Sohio Petroleum Company | 152 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Chouteau |
| 44 | Fulton Producing Company | 151 | <3 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 45 | Slawson Exploration Company | 148 | 63 | Bakken | Richland |
| 46 | Oasis Petroleum North America | 147 | 100 | Bakken | Roosevelt |
| 47 | D90 Energy | 145 | 119 | Bakken | Sheridan |
| 48 | Fuel Resources Development Company | 145 | <3 | Central Montana Uplift | Blaine |
| 49 | Amerada Hess | 145 | <3 | Central Montana Uplift | Musselshell |
| 50 | Whiting Petroleum CORP | 139 | 85 | Bakken | Richland |
| 51 | Mcalester Fuel Company | 137 | 0 | Heath Fm | Musselshell |
| 52 | Mont Mil Operating Company | 133 | 10 | Sweetgrass Arch | Pondera |
| 53 | Omimex Canada | 132 | 33 | Sweetgrass Arch | Liberty |
| 54 | Mondak Utilities Company & Fidelity Gas Company | 126 | 0 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 55 | K2 America | 126 | 25 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 56 | Texas Pacific Oil Company | 125 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 57 | Cenex | 124 | 24 | Central Montana Uplift | Petroleum |
| 58 | Cline Production Company | 121 | 90 | Heath Fm | Rosebud |
| 59 | Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company | 121 | 48 | Judith River- Eagle | Fallon |
| 60 | Bacon J R Drilling | 120 | <3 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 61 | Ohio Oil Company | 116 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 62 | Amoco Production Company | 116 | 10 | Big Horn Basin | Carbon |
| 63 | Carter Oil Company | 116 | <3 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 64 | Highline Exploration | 116 | 88 | Powder River Basin | Big Horn |
| 65 | Midlands Energy CO | 112 | <3 | Bowdoin-Greenhorn | Phillips |
| 66 | Cavalier Petroleum | 111 | 80 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 67 | Elenburg Exploration | 110 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Chouteau |
| 68 | Gulf Oil | 110 | 0 | Williston Basin | Blaine |
| 69 | Exxon Mobil | 109 | 36 | Williston Basin | Valley |
| 70 | Cut Bank Resources | 106 | 37 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 71 | Atlantic Richfield Company | 105 | 0 | Williston Basin | Valley |
| 72 | Lone Wolf Operating Company | 104 | 88 | Niobrara Fm | Blaine |
| 73 | Poplar Resources LLC | 103 | 79 | Bakken | Roosevelt |
| 74 | Encana Oil & Gas | 102 | 14 | Niobrara Fm | Blaine |
| 75 | Kipling Energy Incorporated | 102 | 55 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 76 | California Company | 101 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 77 | Beartooth Oil & Gas Company | 99 | 54 | Heath Fm | Musselshell |
| 78 | Croft Petroleum Company | 99 | 17 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 79 | Murphy Exploration & Production Company | 98 | 10 | Bakken | Roosevelt |
| 80 | Sands Oil Company | 98 | 56 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 81 | Tomahawk Oil Company | 98 | 68 | Heath Fm | Rosebud |
| 82 | Comanche Drilling Company | 95 | 16 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 83 | Sumatra Oil | 93 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 84 | Provident Energy Of Montana | 93 | 77 | Sweetgrass Arch | Pondera |
| 85 | Kingsherwood Oil | 93 | 68 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
| 86 | Hawley Oil Company | 92 | 72 | Sweetgrass Arch | Pondera |
| 87 | Redstone Gas Partners | 91 | 0 | Powder River Basin | Big Horn |
| 88 | Ep Energy E And P Company | 91 | 3 | Sweetgrass Arch | Hill |
| 89 | Placid Oil Company | 89 | <3 | Powder River Basin | Carter |
| 90 | Davis Oil Company | 89 | 0 | Powder River Basin | Powder River |
| 91 | Ang Holding USA CORP | 88 | 53 | Central Montana Uplift | Blaine |
| 92 | Tarrant R C | 87 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 93 | Mogo Reagan LLC | 87 | 83 | Sweetgrass Arch | Glacier |
| 94 | Farmers Union Central Exchange | 87 | 0 | Heath Fm | Sheridan |
| 95 | Montana Energy Company LLC | 86 | 66 | Central Montana Uplift | Rosebud |
| 96 | Petrohunt | 85 | 52 | Bakken | Richland |
| 97 | Pan American Petroleum | 81 | 0 | Sweetgrass Arch | Hill |
| 98 | Noble Energy | 79 | 40 | Bowdoin-Greenhorn | Phillips |
| 99 | Luff Exploration Company | 79 | 22 | Bakken | Richland |
| 100 | Chelin | 78 | 78 | Sweetgrass Arch | Toole |
Source: Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data.
Ranking: Operators ranked by total well count under their current operator-of-record. Producing-well count is wells with a first-production date on file. Drilling activity (permits, spuds, DUCs) is published only as state and county counts, never attributed to an operator.
Why it matters: Knowing who operates the most wells in Montana helps mineral owners understand who they're dealing with at the lease level.
Refresh cadence: Daily. Data current as of 2026-10-04.
By wells operated, Ridge Oil & Gas is the largest oil and gas operator in Montana, with 2,769 wells on record per Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data. Note that "biggest" by revenue or market capitalization can rank differently — this measures operated well count.
The top 10 operators by operated well count are: Ridge Oil & Gas, Fidelity Exploration & Production Company, Northwestern, Mmgl Mt I, LLC, Somont Oil Company, New Horizon Resources, McR, Denbury Onshore, Montana Power Company, Brown J Burns Operating Company. The full top-100 ranking with well and producing-well counts is in the leaderboard below.
Ridge Oil & Gas operates the most wells in Montana at 2,769, per Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data.
This leaderboard ranks the top 100 operators active in Montana by total well count. Many more file with the regulator; these are the largest by operated wells.
By wells operated — the count of wells under each company's current operator-of-record designation in the public oil and gas data Buckhead Energy analyzes. It is not a revenue, production-volume, or market-capitalization ranking.
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State: Montana
Operators ranked: 100
Total wells: 26,135
Last refresh: 2026-10-04
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