Oil and Gas Division

BISMARCK, ND - Three months after announcing their first critical mineral discovery, Lynn Helms, Director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, and Ed Murphy, North Dakota State Geologist, announce the North Dakota Geological Survey has discovered a second interval of rocks in western North Dakota that contains elevated concentrations of critical minerals, some of which are significantly enriched.

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BISMARCK, ND - Lynn Helms, Director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, and Ed Murphy, North Dakota State Geologist, announced that the North Dakota Geological Survey has developed a comprehensive exploration model for lignite coals and organic-rich mudstones enriched in critical minerals.

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MEDIA ADVISORY    |     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     | Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Letter sent to Landowners regarding confiscated wells located on their property. 

DMR and IT support staff are continuing to work on bringing the DMR website to full strength.

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State of North Dakota Comments on Proposed Standards of Performance for New,Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review (86 Fed. Reg. 63,110) (November 15, 2021)[EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0317; FRL–8510–02–OAR]

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The North Dakota Emergency Commission and North Dakota Legislative Budget Section have approved reallocating 1% of the state’s CARES Act Funding to a grant program which will provide additional short- and long-term economic support statewide from a previously approved Oil and Gas Division orphan well site reclamation program. The $16 million reallocation will move a portion of dollars from the reclamation of orphan well sites to a grant program that will support the employment of frac crews to complete drilled but uncompleted (“DUC”) wells.

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The Department of Mineral Resources has established the Bakken Restart Task Force to facilitate rapid recovery of the oil and gas industry and supporting sectors impacted by COVID-related demand shock.

The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division has launched “North Dakota Oil and Gas,” a podcast which includes the Division’s monthly “Director’s Cut” in a easily accessible and modern platform for North Dakota citizens.

The Department of Mineral Resources was directed today by the North Dakota Industrial Commission to immediately reinstate guidelines that promote the prevention of waste of the state’s natural resources of oil and gas during the current economic climate. The Not Completed Well Waiver guidelines allow operators to apply for Not Completed Well Status.

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Director of North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, Lynn Helms, issued the below statements today following an oil price drop of more than 20% between Friday March 6th and Monday, March 9th. Over the weekend the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down as much as a 34%, one of the largest price drops in decades.

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North Dakota has reached new records in both oil and gas production. May preliminary data released by the Oil and Gas Division indicates North Dakota is now producing 1,244,629 barrels of oil per day -an increase of 17,146 barrels from the last record set in December 2014.

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Governor Doug Burgum last week signed House Bill 1347 into law to continue appropriations from the state’s Abandoned Oil and Gas Well Plugging Site Reclamation Fund (AWPSRF).

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Former Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library manager Julie LeFever was honored Sunday by the American Association of Professional Geologists (AAPG) with the Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award. LeFever passed away in December of 2016 after a long illness.

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The final pieces of proposed rule changes regulating the oil and gas industry were today unanimously approved by the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee (ARC).

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Director of Mineral Resources, Lynn Helms today addressed the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas and Coal Producing Counties (NDAOGCPC) and provided his forecast for future growth in western North Dakota.

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The Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division is working with the North Dakota Department of Health and the City of Williston to oversee the proper clean-up and disposal of new and used filter socks found recently within the city of Williston.

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A recent article published by the Dickinson Press incorrectly reported that the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division doesn’t follow guidance established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its oversight of saltwater disposal wells.

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The additional comment period in case number 23084, concerning transportation safety and marketability of crude oil closed at 5 pm today.

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The North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS) will host National Fossil Day and will be identifying fossils and rocks Wednesday, October 15 from 10 am to 5 pm in the Bismarck Heritage Center.

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The Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division held a special hearing Tuesday to address the transportation safety and marketability of crude oil.

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Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, today updated County Commissioners, auditors and other state and local officials on his oil activity forecast during his annual address to the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties (NDAOGPC).

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The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division will dedicate three new positions to the inspection of oil and gas gathering pipelines.

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The Oil and Gas Division of the Department of Mineral Resources has scheduled a special hearing to address the transportation safety and marketability of crude oil.

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A Wyoming-based trucking company is facing possible fines of more than $1 million for illegally dumping saltwater on a Williams County road.

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The Oil and Gas Division of the Department of Mineral Resources today announced new permit requirements for oil, gas and saltwater disposal wells.

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The Oil & Gas Division of the Department of Mineral Resources has scheduled a special hearing to address the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s newly-adopted policy on reducing gas flaring.

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The 2013-2014 changes to the Oil & Gas Administrative Code are now final.

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The North Dakota Geological Survey, Paleontology department has announced the locations for their 2014 summer public fossil digs.

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The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division has issued four drilling permits – two in Emmons County and two in McIntosh County – to Strata-X Energy.

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The United States Geological Survey today released the updated assessment of the Bakken and Three Forks Petroleum System. The Department of Mineral Resources was pleased with the results.

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The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources has developed a new mapping tool to help community leaders plan for road maintenance, dust control and other traffic-related problems in oil country.

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The 2012 proposed oil and gas rule changes have now been approved. The final rules were presented to the Administrative Rules Committee this morning, and after no further action by the Committee, the rules will now take effect on April 1st, 2012.

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North Dakota is now producing 546,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), according to preliminary data released Tuesday.

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North Dakota has reached a milestone in oil production. Preliminary November data released today, indicates that North Dakota is now producing more than half a million barrels of oil per day, at approximately 510,000 barrels.

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The Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division says there is no reasonable basis to make a prediction on the outcome of a federal review of hydraulic fracturing regulations

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