as of 2026-10-08

Prima Exploration, Inc. — Mature, Cash-Flowing Bakken Operator in Harvest Mode, With a Telling Pair of Contradictory Recent Orders

Producing now

Total wells

Pending cases

Wells requested

—

Win rate

Producing now28 / 49

Active (status A/AC)33 / 49

Plugged / abandoned2 / 49

As of October 2026, Prima Exploration, Inc. is a small-to-mid-scale North Dakota Bakken operator with 49 total wells, 32 active, and 28 currently producing — a portfolio profile consistent with a seasoned, cash-generating asset base rather than an aggressive growth story. The docket is quiet: zero pending cases, no upcoming hearings, and no wells requested. The only recent regulatory footprint is a two-order sequence in McKenzie County — a Spacing Unit and Well Authorization signed July 27, 2026, and a Dismissal Order signed July 8, 2026 — that together raise pointed questions about field prioritization and lease health. With only 2 plugged wells across 49 total, abandonment liability is either deferred or the portfolio is younger than it looks.

What stands out

A dismissal in Butte/Grassy Butte fields (ord-35461, July 8) followed within weeks by a new spacing-unit authorization in Beicegel Creek/Ranch Creek fields (ord-35460, July 27) is the clearest signal of active field-level triage — something shifted fast, whether geology, lease terms, or capital allocation.
28 of 32 active wells are currently producing — a very high ratio for any ND operator — pointing to a portfolio in harvest mode with little waiting-on-completion or shut-in inventory. Growth is not the story here; cash flow is.
Only 2 plugged wells out of 49 total is unusually low and warrants scrutiny: it may signal deferred abandonment obligations building quietly on the balance sheet, or that assets are being held for a potential sale rather than retired.
The entire recent regulatory record is confined to McKenzie County. With 49 total wells and zero pending cases elsewhere, geographic concentration risk is real — a single-county regulatory or operational disruption hits the whole book.

Docket & Locations

Prima Exploration carries zero pending cases and has no upcoming hearings as of the as-of date. No wells are currently requested before the Commission. The operator's recent regulatory activity is limited to McKenzie County, specifically the Beicegel Creek and/or Ranch Creek-Bakken Pools and the Butte and/or Grassy Butte-Bakken Pools — both classic Williston Basin Bakken targets.

sources: mom-pending, mom-wells_auth, mom-next_hearing, mom-counties, ord-35460, ord-35461

Portfolio

Prima holds 49 total wells: 32 active, 28 producing now, and 2 plugged. The gap between active and producing is narrow, suggesting minimal idle or deferred inventory. The plugged count of 2 against a total of 49 is notably low and could reflect deferred abandonment, a relatively young portfolio, or an asset-holding posture ahead of a potential transaction.

sources: port-total, port-active, port-producing_now, port-plugged

Recent Orders

Two orders define Prima's recent regulatory record. Order 35461 (signed July 8, 2026) is a Dismissal Order covering the Butte and/or Grassy Butte-Bakken Pools in McKenzie County. Order 35460 (signed July 27, 2026) is a Spacing Unit and Well Authorization for the Beicegel Creek and/or Ranch Creek-Bakken Pools, also in McKenzie County. The sequence — dismissal first, authorization weeks later — is consistent with a rapid reallocation between adjacent Bakken targets, though the underlying driver (geology, lease expiry, capital constraint) is not specified in the record.

sources: ord-35460, ord-35461