Quick answer — Who are the largest operators in the Williston Basin (Bakken)?
The Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana is the home of the Bakken and Three Forks plays — one of the premier light-oil resource basins in North America.
The Williston Basin (Bakken) has approximately 59,068 wells operated by 2,363 companies. Below are the largest operators by well count. Data as of 2026-11-03.
| # | Operator | Wells | Have produced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Continental Resources | 4,363 | 3,569 |
| 2 | Hess Bakken Investments Ii | 2,909 | 2,531 |
| 3 | Ridge Oil & Gas | 2,769 | 2,758 |
| 4 | Whiting Petroleum Corp. | 2,690 | 2,245 |
| 5 | Devon Energy Williston,LLC | 2,391 | 2,157 |
| 6 | Oasis Petroleum North America | 2,372 | 1,957 |
| 7 | Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company | 1,683 | 1,181 |
| 8 | XTO Energy | 1,427 | 1,090 |
| 9 | EOG Resources | 1,378 | 836 |
| 10 | Enerplus Resources | 1,369 | 1,101 |
| 11 | Marathon Oil Company | 1,342 | 1,156 |
| 12 | Petrohunt | 1,337 | 1,055 |
| 13 | Kraken Operating | 1,253 | 1,111 |
| 14 | Mmgl Mt I, LLC | 1,121 | 933 |
| 15 | Slawson Exploration Company | 937 | 659 |
| 16 | Amerada Hess | 764 | 489 |
| 17 | Cobra Oil & Gas | 697 | 631 |
| 18 | Morning Star Oil Company | 621 | 608 |
| 19 | Formentera Operations LLC | 567 | 424 |
| 20 | Denbury Onshore | 545 | 449 |
| 21 | White Rock Oil & Gas | 541 | 501 |
| 22 | Fidelity Exploration & Production Company | 526 | 324 |
| 23 | Shell Oil Company | 483 | 32 |
| 24 | Hunt Oil Company | 458 | 274 |
| 25 | Scout Energy Management | 420 | 401 |
The largest operators in the Williston Basin (Bakken) by well count in this snapshot are Continental Resources (4,363 wells), Hess Bakken Investments Ii (2,909 wells), Ridge Oil & Gas (2,769 wells), Whiting Petroleum Corp. (2,690 wells), Devon Energy Williston,LLC (2,391 wells). The snapshot includes 2,363 operators and is dated 2026-11-03.
No. “Have produced” counts wells with a recorded first-production date. It does not confirm current production or current royalty payments. The “Wells” column counts well records associated with each operator in this basin snapshot.
Use the linked operator profiles and basin mineral-rights guide for related information. The inquiry link below provides a way to contact Buckhead about your interest.
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Well counts come from Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data (data as of 2026-11-03); reflect wells where each company is the current operator of record in the Williston Basin (Bakken). Informational only.
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