Williams County logged 70 signed orders over the trailing 90 days — the highest county total in the basin — with Continental Resources, Phoenix Operating, Oasis Petroleum North America, Devon Energy Williston, and Hess Bakken Investments II among the active operators driving that volume. McKenzie County followed closely at 66 signed orders over the same period, anchored by Burlington Resources Oil & Gas, Phoenix Operating, White Rock Oil & Gas, and SOGC. Together the two counties account for the bulk of recent regulatory throughput and remain the clearest indicators of where Williston Basin capital is being committed at the commission level.
Only 2 pooling orders were signed during the October 1–8 window, against a trailing weekly average of 10.1 — an 80.2% decline. A single week's data can reflect scheduling gaps rather than a structural shift, but a drop of this magnitude warrants attention. If the trend persists into the October 22 hearing cycle, it could signal that operators are front-loading spacing and field-redefinition work before returning to pooling, or that contested cases are slowing the pipeline. The 109 cases pending with hearings in the next 30 days will be the first real test of whether the docket rebounds.
Petro-Hunt, L.L.C. posted the highest operator ramp score in this week's dataset at 76.6, with 15 pending cases, all 15 rated high-probability, and a historical win rate of 91%. The commission signed three Petro-Hunt orders between October 5 and October 7: Order 35276 authorizing spacing in the Plumer field (Divide County), Order 35278 authorizing a spacing modification and pool redefinition in the Burg-Bakken Pool (Divide and Williams counties), and Order 35274 authorizing a spacing modification also in the Burg-Bakken Pool. The operator's next hearing is scheduled for October 21. Petro-Hunt has 62 wells requested across pending applications in Billings, Divide, and McKenzie counties; none of those wells should be considered approved until corresponding signed orders are issued.
Divide County recorded 54 signed orders over the past 90 days, ranking third among all counties. This week alone, five of the six newly signed orders touched Divide — including Petro-Hunt's spacing and pool-redefinition work, a Murex Petroleum spacing order for the Musta-Bakken Pool (Order 36097), and a KODA Resources SWD authorization for the Fertile Valley field (Order 36158). Looking ahead, Continental Resources has two pooling cases (32177 and 32178) and one spacing-unit case (32170) — the latter proposing 6 wells — all set for hearing on October 22 in Divide County, each carrying a 100% probability of progressing. Continental's activity in Divide mirrors the county's broader role as a secondary growth corridor behind Williams and McKenzie.
Six cases stand out on the October 22 docket, all carrying a 100% probability of progressing. Hunt Oil Co. (case 33256) is seeking a spacing-unit order in Burke County with 4 wells proposed. EOG Resources (case 33265) has a spacing-unit application in Mountrail County also requesting 4 wells. Continental Resources' spacing-unit case in Divide County (32170) proposes 6 wells. Silver Hill Energy Operating (case 33275) has a pooling case in Mountrail County. None of these wells should be characterized as approved; they remain requested pending commission action. Burke County has seen 22 signed orders over the past 90 days, and Mountrail 29 — both counties where a favorable October 22 outcome would meaningfully extend recent momentum.
Phoenix Operating LLC presents a notable contrast to Petro-Hunt. The company carries 22 pending cases — the most of any operator in this dataset — spread across Burke, Divide, McKenzie, Mountrail, and Williams counties, with 75 wells requested in those applications. Yet only 2 of those 22 cases are rated high-probability, and the operator's average case probability sits at just 0.369, against a historical win rate of 68%. That combination of broad geographic exposure and low per-case conviction warrants scrutiny; a significant portion of Phoenix's proposed well inventory faces meaningful regulatory uncertainty heading into the October 21 hearing.