Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co. LP is a large, established Bakken operator with 1,489 total wells in its North Dakota portfolio, 914 of which are active and 989 currently producing. The company is entirely focused in McKenzie County, where it just cleared a dense wave of 8 spacing and pooling cases through the NDIC on June 24, 2026 — all targeting the Bully-Bakken and Haystack Butte-Bakken pools across contiguous T.148N./T.147N. acreage in R.98W. and R.99W. Every case has progressed to order, but none has yet converted to a permit or spud, placing the operator at the threshold of a new development cycle. Five recent orders signed in late April through June 2026 further reflect active unit restructuring across multiple McKenzie Bakken pools.
Burlington carries 1,489 total wells in North Dakota, with 914 active and 989 producing as of the dossier date. 106 wells have been plugged. The producing count exceeding the active count is a common artifact of wells classified under different status conventions — the core takeaway is a large, mature base generating ongoing production while the operator repositions for the next development tranche.
All 8 active cases are in McKenzie County, concentrated in T.148N. and T.147N. across R.98W. and R.99W. The target formations are the Bully-Bakken and, in three of the cases, the Haystack Butte-Bakken. Four cases are spacing unit applications (case nos. 31929, 31928, 31977, 31930) and four are companion pooling applications (case nos. 31967, 31960, 31968, 32004). Unit sizes range from 1,920 acres to 5,120 acres. Prior well counts on these units range from 2 to 7, confirming these are infill and extension efforts on established acreage, not greenfield entries. All 8 cases had their first hearing dates in either July or August 2025 and reached final hearing on June 24, 2026.
Burlington received 8 signed orders between April 1 and June 22, 2026, all in McKenzie County. The June 22 cluster alone produced 5 orders covering Boxcar Butte/South Boxcar-Bakken (spacing amendment and multi-well authorization, order 34897), Bull Moose-Bakken (spacing amendment and pool extension, order 35499), North Branch/Hay Draw-Bakken (spacing establishment and pool amendment, order 35500), North Branch/Little Tank-Bakken (spacing establishment and pool amendment, order 34546), and North Branch/South Boxcar-Bakken (spacing establishment and field redefinition, order 34669). Earlier in the spring, commingling authorizations were granted for the Elidah-Bakken and Garden-Bakken pools (order 35677, May 21) and the Elidah-Bakken alone (order 35528, April 1), and a spacing amendment with well authorization was signed for the Butte/Bennett Creek-Bakken pool (order 35272, May 12). The commingling orders are operationally significant — they allow Burlington to blend production streams across pools, a tool typically used to optimize artificial lift and surface facility economics on mature pads.
The momentum dashboard is flat: 0 pending cases, 0 high-probability cases, 0 wells authorized in the forward queue. This is not a sign of inactivity — it reflects that Burlington's current wave has already cleared the docket and is awaiting the permit stage. The next observable trigger will be NDIC permit filings against the newly ordered spacing units, particularly the 13-well unit (case 31929) and the 6-well unit (case 31928), which carry the largest authorized well counts. No hearing dates are scheduled forward.