North Dakota
October wildfires impact ND oil production
MDN File Photo
North Dakota’s oil production had a recent decline largely due to the wildfires in October.
BISMARCK – Wildfires in October attributed to a decline in oil and gas production in the state that month, according to the director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.
Nathan Anderson said the state produced 1.178 million barrels of oil a day in October. In September, the state produced 1.199 million barrels of oil a day.
He said the oil production numbers are down about 522,000 barrels for the month.
“This is largely due to the wildfires that occurred starting later in the first week of October and those shut-ins that remain on and off for the remainder of the month,” Anderson said. He said oil production is down 1.8% but it’s still up to the revenue forecast of 7%.
Anderson released the October production numbers this past week. The numbers are normally two months behind.
North Dakota produced 3.4 million cubic feet (MCF) a day of natural gas in October, a decrease of 4.1%. The gas capture was 94%. In September, the gas capture was 95%.
Anderson said the natural gas production was down also due to the wildfires in the state in October.
He said 97% of the state’s oil production is from the Bakken and the Three Forks formations, and 3% from the legacy pools.
On Wednesday, the price of North Dakota Light Sweet crude oil was $62.65 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was $70.94 a barrel, according to the report. The all-time high was in June 2008 when N.D. Light Sweet was $125.62 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was $134.02 a barrel.
In September, 100 wells were permitted and in October, 111 wells were permitted, according to Anderson. The all-time high was 370 wells permitted in October 2012.
He said the trend over the past several years has been less 2-mile lateral wells being permitted and more 3-mile lateral permits coming in. He said most recently, there’s been probably half a dozen 4-mile lateral permits, He said the trend for longer laterals continues in the state.
The rig count in North Dakota for the month of October was 39, Anderson said. In November, there were 37 rigs. On Wednesday, he said 37 rigs were actively working in the state and two were on federal surface.
Anderson said North Dakota is fourth in the nation in rig counts. Citing Baker Hughes information, he said 589 rigs are working in the United States. In addition to the 37 in North Dakota, 284 are in Texas, 104 in New Mexico and 43 in Oklahoma.
From a basin standpoint, he said, the Permian is at 304 rigs, Eagle Ford/South Texas at 46 rigs, Williston Basin including North Dakota and Montana around 40 and the Marcelus/Utica (dry gas) at 35.
In October, he said 331 wells were waiting on completion,1,796 are inactive and remains relatively consistent month over month, and 95 were completed. In November, 98 wells (preliminary number) were completed.
He said the number of producing wells set another all-time high of 19,334 in October.
Anderson said 73 abandoned wells have been plugged and 82 sites reclaimed during 2023 through October 2024 as part of a $25 million grant. “We expect this to be closer to the 110 mark once all the grant money is all wrapped up,” he said.
On the Fort Berthold Reservation, Anderson said, oil production is at 177,000 barrels of oil per day. He said one rig is running and the reservation has 2,950 active wells. He said two wells are waiting on completion.
“Production continues to drop slightly month over month. I would likely contribute this to just less activity and a rig count that doesn’t quite add the same production as the decline,” he said, referring to Fort Berthold Reservation.
He said the drilling rig count in the state remains steady even with the mergers and acquisitions across the United States. He said this is expected to increase gradually to the mid-40s sometime over the next couple years.
He said 14 frac crews are actively operating in the state and operators continue to maintain a permit inventory of approximately 12 months.
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Here’s something North Dakotans can take pride in: North Dakota has the third-highest average IQ in the nation, tying with Vermont at 103.8. That is 3.5 points above the national average.
The state with the highest average is Massachusetts at 104.3 and the state with the lowest average is Mississippi at 94.2.
Ninety-four percent of North Dakotans graduate high school, making it the state with the sixth-highest graduation rate in the nation.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
WEST FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Authorities have identified the man killed and the driver involved in a fatal overnight crash in West Fargo.
Jose Rodriguez, 38, of West Fargo, died after being struck by a vehicle early Wednesday morning, according to the North Dakota State Patrol.
The driver, Carly Vizenor, 25, of West Fargo, was not injured. Charges and restraint use remain under investigation.
The crash happened at approximately 2:46 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 32nd Avenue South and 9th Street West.
According to the State Patrol, a 2016 Ford Fusion was traveling westbound on 32nd Avenue South when it struck Rodriguez, who was crossing the street approximately 20 to 30 yards east of the 9th Street intersection.
The driver left the scene and returned approximately 10 minutes later.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The North Dakota State Patrol, West Fargo Police Department, and West Fargo Fire Department all responded to the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
Getty
NDSU could make the CFP in 2026.
Winning has been the standard at North Dakota State for decades, and one college football analyst expects a similar result in the FBS right away.
Brett McMurphy of On3 believes NDSU will run the table 12-0 with a Mountain West Conference championship and make the College Football Playoff. McMurphy projects the Bison to face Oregon in the CFP, the Fargo Forum’s Jeff Kolpack reported.
That would mean the Bison would go on the road to Eugene against a perennial FBS contender, which didn’t go well for the last Group of Six team to play the Ducks. Oregon steamrolled James Madison 51-34 in last season’s CFP before the Ducks took down Texas Tech and lost to eventual national champion Indiana.
It’s not impossible for the Bison to get that far based on Sagarin Ratings and the program’s history of success against FBS teams. The Bison would need to maximize what they can control and to have a few things fall their way.
That said, all of this would be contingent upon the Bison receiving clearance for postseason competition from the NCAA on Thursday. Transitioning teams normally face a two-year postseason ban, and NDSU had been in a similar situation before, with a four-year postseason ban during the move from Division II to the FCS in 2004.
NDSU Looking to Pass JMU Again
In 2016, the JMU interrupted NDSU’s five-year FCS championship run with a playoff upset at the Fargodome.
NDSU then beat JMU in the 2017 season championship to win a sixth title in seven years. The Bison beat JMU again in the FCS championship game again for the 2019 season before the Dukes joined the FBS in 2022.
JMU’s success at the FBS level has resulted in two bowl game appearances and Sun Belt Conference title. Amid the conference crown, the Dukes slipped into the CFP as the ACC went topsy-turvy when a 5-5 Duke Blue Devils team at the time upset Virginia.
JMU made the CFP, and Miami represented the ACC while Notre Dame sat at home despite a 10-2 record and a close early-season loss to the national runner-up Hurricanes. NDSU, meanwhile, had a 12-0 regular season in the FCS and got stunned in the FCS playoffs by Illinois State, the second team ever to win a playoff game in Fargo.
The Bison looked like a program retooling to get back up from a postseason disappointment in January, but February brought the news of NDSU’s long-anticipated move up to the FBS. The Mountain West Conference invited the Bison amid the conference’s restructuring with five teams leaving for the Pac-12.
That made the former FCS titan attractive to the Mountain West, which notably lost former CFP entrant Boise State. Whether or not NDSU can become the Mountain West’s new Boise State or pass JMU as a premiere Group of Six team remains unknown.
Common Opponents Key For Bison
The Bison have the odds stacked against them in 2026 to make the CFP, but it’s not impossible.
NDSU doesn’t have a Power Four opponent, but the Bison can make up for that by margin of victory, especially with any Mountain West contenders that have Power Four opponents during the season.
New Mexico has the biggest Power Four opponent among Mountain West teams with Oklahoma, and UTEP faces Oklahoma and Michigan. San Jose State faces USC, another team with CFP hopes.
NDSU beating New Mexico, UTEP and San Jose State handily will especially help in making a run for the playoff.
Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis
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