Ballard Petroleum Holdings, LLC is a small North Dakota operator whose entire visible regulatory footprint as of August 2026 is concentrated in one asset: the Chatfield-Madison Unit in Bottineau County. The company holds 21 total wells, of which 6 are currently producing and 5 are active but not producing — a portfolio profile consistent with a mature field in transition rather than active development. Zero pending cases, zero authorized wells, and no upcoming hearings signal a company that is not growing its footprint but instead managing what it has. Two EOR orders signed on the same day in June 2026 are the only recent regulatory moves, pointing to a deliberate, coordinated push to extend recovery from a single aging unit.
Ballard's regulatory activity is geographically narrow. All recent orders are in Bottineau County, North Dakota, within the Chatfield-Madison Unit. There are no pending cases, no scheduled hearings, and no development locations on file as of August 2026. The operator's docket is essentially closed except for the two June 2026 EOR orders.
Ballard holds 21 total wells. Of those, 6 are currently producing, 5 are active but not producing, and 1 has been plugged. The gap between total wells and producing wells is notable — the majority of the portfolio is not generating current production. No new wells have been authorized, and momentum indicators show zero pending or high-probability cases.
On June 12, 2026, the North Dakota Industrial Commission signed two orders for Ballard on the same day: Order 35792, an Exception to Spacing Requirements for an Enhanced Oil Recovery Well in the Chatfield-Madison Unit (Bottineau County), and Order 35838, an Enhanced Oil Recovery Authorization for the same unit. The pairing of a spacing exception with a full EOR authorization in a single regulatory action is consistent with a coordinated push to implement a tertiary recovery program — likely requiring both the physical well placement flexibility and the formal EOR project sanction.
The picture that emerges is coherent: a small operator with a mature, concentrated asset base in Bottineau County is making a regulatory-backed effort to extend the productive life of the Chatfield-Madison Unit through EOR. The absence of any new drilling activity, pending cases, or geographic diversification means this EOR project is not a side initiative — it is the strategy. Success or failure here defines the operator's trajectory. The unresolved question is whether the 5 active-but-not-producing wells represent EOR infrastructure in progress or deferred problems. The low plugging count (1 of 21) adds a background liability that will eventually require attention regardless of EOR outcomes.