NEWS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | May 29, 2025
North Dakota Industrial Commission Approves Updated
Non-Completion Well Waiver Policy
BISMARCK, ND – At a recent North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) meeting held on May 22, 2025, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) requested that an updated Non-Completion Well Waiver policy be adopted. The Commission approved the new policy 3-0, which went into effect immediately.
North Dakota Century Code 43-02-03-55, which was amended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, allows an additional year to complete the well after it has been drilled. As the current rules state, operators must either put the wells into production or plug them at the one-year mark to avoid being put on abandoned status.
The new policy grants the operators an even greater extension, until the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) lifts their highway load restrictions in the Spring of 2027. Operators will be required to monitor pressure in the wells quarterly.
Nathan Anderson, Director of DMR, states, “Due to a soft pricing environment and the potential for rig and/or activity level reductions, the Department of Mineral Resources is implementing this waiver as it has done in the past. The goal is that the waiver will assist operators in maintaining healthy activity levels.”
The department’s mission is to conserve the natural resources of North Dakota, to prevent waste, protect the environment, and protect the rights of mineral owners. The DMR believes the guidelines set by this policy will be beneficial to North Dakota’s oil and gas industry.
General Guidelines for Non-Completed - Waiver of Wells (Effective 5.22.2025)
Additional Well Waiver Guidance
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C O N T A C T :
Marina K. Gasser
Public Information Specialist
North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources
mkgasser@nd.gov | 701-328-8020 | www.dmr.nd.gov