as of 2026-08-27

XTO Energy Inc. — Dunn County Bakken Operator With 1,338-Well Portfolio and Two Active Spacing Cases Heading to Hearing

952

Producing now

1,338

Total wells

Pending cases

Wells authorized

50%

Win rate

2026-09-24

Next hearing

Producing now952 / 1,338

Active (status A/AC)913 / 1,338

Plugged / abandoned107 / 1,338

XTO Energy Inc. is a large-scale Bakken operator with a total portfolio of 1,338 wells — 913 active, 952 producing, and 107 plugged — concentrated in North Dakota's Dunn County as of August 2026. The company is pressing forward on two pending spacing unit applications in Dunn County, one of which is a true greenfield position in the Bear Creek and Corral Creek Bakken pools seeking authorization for 15 wells across 2,560 acres, with a hearing set for September 24, 2026. A recent field-rules amendment order in the Lost Bridge-Bakken Pool (signed July 17, 2026) signals active portfolio management alongside new development pushes. XTO's work-type footprint spans the full upstream supply chain — drilling rigs, frac crews, frac sand, pad construction, and water logistics — marking it as a fully integrated field operator.

What stands out

The September 2026 Bear Creek/Corral Creek case is a genuine greenfield entry — zero prior wells on the unit — yet XTO is swinging for 15 authorized wells at once on 2,560 acres. That's an unusually aggressive opening ask for a blank-slate position, and it carries an 89.7% probability of regulatory progression.
XTO's portfolio shows a notable gap: 952 wells are producing yet only 913 are classified as active, meaning producing count actually exceeds the active count. This definitional divergence — rather than the reverse — hints at a classification or reporting nuance worth probing before drawing capital-allocation conclusions.
The two live Dunn County cases sit at opposite ends of the development spectrum: case 33034 is a brownfield unit with 18 prior wells seeking just 1 more authorization on 3,840 acres (84.1% progression probability), while case 33188 is a greenfield 15-well ask. Running both simultaneously suggests XTO is managing mature-field optimization and frontier expansion in the same county at the same time.
A momentum ramp score of 14.5 against a win rate of only 50% creates a tension worth watching: the pipeline is heating up, but XTO's historical regulatory batting average in ND is a coin flip — high activity does not reliably translate to approved orders.

Docket & Locations

All current regulatory activity is concentrated in Dunn County. XTO has 1 pending case (case 33188) scheduled for hearing on September 24, 2026, covering Sections 29, 30, 31, and 32 of T.148N., R.95W. — the Bear Creek-Bakken and Corral Creek-Bakken pools. A second case (33034), heard July 30, 2026, targets the Haystack Butte-Bakken and Lost Bridge-Bakken pools across Sections 10, 11, 14, 15, 22, and 23 of T.148N., R.97W. and R.96W. The most recent signed order (No. 35872, July 17, 2026) was a Field Rules Amendment — Spacing Unit Reconfiguration in the Lost Bridge-Bakken Pool, Dunn County, indicating XTO is actively reshaping existing unit boundaries even as it files new ones.

sources: case-33188, hr-33188, ord-35872

Portfolio

XTO operates 1,338 total wells in North Dakota. Of these, 913 are classified as active and 952 are currently producing; 107 have been plugged. The company's work-type profile covers the full upstream cycle: drilling rigs, frac crews, frac sand, new-pad dirt and construction, and water logistics and trucking — indicating XTO runs integrated field operations rather than relying on a narrow slice of the service market.

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

Recent Orders, Cases & Regulatory Posture

XTO's one signed order in the recent window — Order 35872 (July 17, 2026) — was a spacing unit reconfiguration in the Lost Bridge-Bakken Pool, Dunn County, reflecting ongoing field-rules maintenance in mature areas. On the forward docket, case 33188 carries a progression probability of 89.7% heading into its September 24 hearing, with 15 wells authorized across 2,560 acres. Case 33034 (3,840 acres, 1 well authorized, 84.1% progression probability) is the brownfield complement, sitting on a unit with 18 prior wells. XTO's overall win rate stands at 50%, and the pipeline momentum ramp is 14.5, with 1 pending case and 15 wells authorized in the active queue.

sources: ord-35872, hr-33188, mom-win_rate, mom-ramp, mom-pending, mom-wells_auth

Hearing locations

Case	County	Pool	Precision	Map
33188	Dunn County	Bear Creek-Bakken Pool, Corral Creek-Bakken Pool	legal	📍 map