The largest oil and gas operators active in North Dakota — 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 2026-11-01.
Quick answer: By wells operated, Continental Resources is the largest oil and gas operator in North Dakota with 3,599 wells on record, followed by Hess Bakken Investments Ii (2,909) and Whiting Petroleum Corp. (2,553). Ranked from Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data (as of 2026-11-01). This is an operated-well-count ranking, not a revenue or market-cap ranking.
As of 2026-11-01, the largest operator by wells on record in North Dakota is Continental Resources with 3,599 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 | Continental Resources | 3,599 | 2,974 | Bakken | Williams |
| 2 | Hess Bakken Investments Ii | 2,909 | 2,531 | Bakken | Mountrail |
| 3 | Whiting Petroleum CORP | 2,553 | 2,160 | Bakken | Mountrail |
| 4 | Devon Energy Williston,LLC | 2,356 | 2,128 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 5 | Oasis Petroleum North America | 2,225 | 1,857 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 6 | Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company | 1,532 | 1,146 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 7 | Xto Energy | 1,409 | 1,082 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 8 | Enerplus Resources | 1,357 | 1,101 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 9 | Marathon Oil Company | 1,328 | 1,154 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 10 | Eog Resources | 1,319 | 832 | Bakken | Mountrail |
| 11 | Petrohunt | 1,252 | 1,003 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 12 | Kraken Operating | 959 | 875 | Bakken | Williams |
| 13 | Slawson Exploration Company | 790 | 596 | Bakken | Mountrail |
| 14 | Amerada Hess | 723 | 488 | Bakken | Williams |
| 15 | Cobra Oil & Gas | 694 | 631 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 16 | Formentera Operations LLC | 567 | 424 | Bakken | Divide |
| 17 | Denbury Onshore | 479 | 411 | Judith River- Eagle | Bowman |
| 18 | Hunt Oil Company | 439 | 272 | Bakken | Mountrail |
| 19 | Lime Rock Resources Iiia | 398 | 350 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 20 | Scout Energy Management | 388 | 371 | Bakken | Billings |
| 21 | Murex Petroleum | 356 | 302 | Bakken | Williams |
| 22 | Phoenix Operating Company | 339 | 123 | Williston Basin | Divide |
| 23 | White Rock Oil & Gas | 294 | 274 | Bakken | Billings |
| 24 | Zavanna Energy Operating, LLC | 288 | 201 | Bakken | Williams |
| 25 | Silver Hill Energy Partners | 249 | 191 | Williston Basin | Williams |
| 26 | Foundation Energy Management | 239 | 179 | Bakken | Billings |
| 27 | Koda Resources Operating LLC | 235 | 66 | Williston Basin | Divide |
| 28 | Cardinal Petroleum | 184 | 35 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 29 | Eagle Operating | 164 | 112 | Bakken | Renville |
| 30 | Citation Oil & Gas | 160 | 146 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 31 | Empire North Dakota LLC | 158 | 135 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 32 | Bhp Petroleum Company | 155 | 57 | Bakken | Burke |
| 33 | Texaco Exploration And Production | 155 | 146 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 34 | Shell Oil Company | 147 | 18 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 35 | Conocophillips Company | 146 | 66 | Bakken | Stark |
| 36 | Sogc INC | 142 | 100 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 37 | Union Pacific Resources Company | 137 | <3 | Williston Basin | Slope |
| 38 | True Oil | 129 | 51 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 39 | Morning Star Oil Company | 125 | all but <3 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 40 | Wpx Energy | 124 | 6 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 41 | 31 Operating | 124 | 113 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 42 | Chesapeake Energy | 118 | 13 | Williston Basin | Slope |
| 43 | Amoco Production Company | 118 | 14 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 44 | Fulcrum Energy Operating LLC | 112 | 107 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 45 | Zenergy | 111 | 4 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 46 | Sm Energy Company | 111 | 87 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 47 | Anr Production Company | 110 | 91 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 48 | Texaco | 107 | 35 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 49 | Petroshale US | 104 | 66 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 50 | Calvert Drilling | 104 | <3 | Bakken | Burke |
| 51 | Gulf Oil | 101 | 22 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 52 | Remuda Energy Development | 101 | 101 | Judith River- Eagle | Bowman |
| 53 | Qep Energy Company | 99 | 3 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 54 | Northern Resources | 98 | 0 | Williston Basin | Steele |
| 55 | Koch Industries | 97 | 53 | Bakken | Williams |
| 56 | Tenneco Oil Company | 95 | 8 | Bakken | Billings |
| 57 | Chevron | 95 | 57 | Bakken | Billings |
| 58 | Hess | 92 | 46 | Bakken | Williams |
| 59 | Pennzoil Production Company | 91 | 25 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 60 | Apache | 91 | 31 | Bakken | Billings |
| 61 | Marza Oil LLC | 88 | 84 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 62 | Mcor Oil & Gas | 88 | 83 | Bakken | Burke |
| 63 | Crescent Point Energy | 87 | 4 | Bakken | Williams |
| 64 | Kissinger Petroleums | 86 | 6 | Bakken | Renville |
| 65 | Luff Exploration Company | 84 | 61 | Judith River- Eagle | Bowman |
| 66 | Lime Rock Resources V-A, | 83 | 79 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 67 | Inexco Oil Company | 82 | 8 | Bakken | Ward |
| 68 | Samson Resources Company | 79 | 13 | Bakken | Divide |
| 69 | W H Hunt Trust Estate | 78 | 27 | Bakken | Billings |
| 70 | Wardwilliston Company | 76 | 67 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 71 | Armstrong Operating | 76 | 21 | Bakken | Stark |
| 72 | Ballantyne Oil | 75 | 48 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 73 | Earl Schwartz Company | 73 | 46 | Bakken | Burke |
| 74 | Cardinal Drilling Company | 71 | 3 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 75 | Cornerstone Natural Resources | 70 | 44 | Bakken | Burke |
| 76 | D90 Energy | 69 | 65 | Bakken | Burke |
| 77 | International Energy Company | 68 | 0 | Williston Basin | Slope |
| 78 | Sun Explorationproduction Company | 68 | 6 | Bakken | Williams |
| 79 | Oxy | 67 | <3 | Bakken | Dunn |
| 80 | Meridian Oil | 66 | 23 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 81 | Berenergy | 66 | 63 | Bakken | Renville |
| 82 | Chandler & Associates | 65 | 10 | Bakken | Renville |
| 83 | Bta Oil Producers | 64 | 27 | Bakken | Bowman |
| 84 | Ridge Oil & Gas, LLC Dba Ridge Energy | 63 | 63 | Judith River- Eagle | Bowman |
| 85 | Spotted Hawk Development LLC | 63 | 18 | Bakken | Mclean |
| 86 | Great American Royalties | 62 | 32 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 87 | Farmers Union Central Exchange | 62 | 8 | Bakken | Billings |
| 88 | Coastal Oil & Gas | 61 | 11 | Bakken | Billings |
| 89 | Prosper Energy | 61 | 50 | Bakken | Burke |
| 90 | I J Wilhite | 58 | 11 | Bakken | Bottineau |
| 91 | Fidelity Exploration & Production Company | 58 | 23 | Bakken | Bowman |
| 92 | Statoil Oil & Gas | 57 | 3 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 93 | Depco | 57 | 10 | Bakken | Williams |
| 94 | Westport Oil & Gas Company | 56 | 25 | Bakken | Billings |
| 95 | Rim Operating | 54 | 50 | Bakken | Williams |
| 96 | Phoenix Petrocorp | 54 | all but <3 | Bakken | Burke |
| 97 | Petroleum | 53 | 9 | Bakken | Renville |
| 98 | Liberty Resources Management | 52 | 38 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 99 | Tiger Oil Company | 51 | <3 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
| 100 | Patrick Petroleum | 50 | 9 | Bakken | Mc Kenzie |
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 North Dakota helps mineral owners understand who they're dealing with at the lease level.
Refresh cadence: Daily. Data current as of 2026-11-01.
By wells operated, Continental Resources is the largest oil and gas operator in North Dakota, with 3,599 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: Continental Resources, Hess Bakken Investments Ii, Whiting Petroleum Corp., Devon Energy Williston,LLC, Oasis Petroleum North America, Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company, XTO Energy, Enerplus Resources, Marathon Oil Company, EOG Resources. The full top-100 ranking with well and producing-well counts is in the leaderboard below.
Continental Resources operates the most wells in North Dakota at 3,599, per Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data.
This leaderboard ranks the top 100 operators active in North Dakota 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.
Whether your operator is on this list or not, your North Dakota mineral interest may be more valuable than you think. Get a free, no-obligation written offer.
Get Your Free Written OfferState: North Dakota
Operators ranked: 100
Total wells: 35,982
Last refresh: 2026-11-01
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