Four New Permits; Two DUCs Reported As Completed -- May 22, 2026

Locator: 50851B.

WTI: $96.60.

Active rigs: 25.

Four new permits, #42967 - #31970, inclusive:

• Operators: Hunt Oil (2); BR (2);
• Fields: Smoky Butte (Divide County); Jim Creek (Dunn County)
• Comments:
• Hunt Oil has permits for two Smoky Butte wells, SESE 34-161-100, 
• to be sited 326 FSL and 556 / 586 FEL; 
• BR has permits for a Hawkeye well and a Firebird well, NWNE 12-145-96; 
• to be sited 651 / 689 FNL and 2205 FEL.

Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

• 40914, 1,242, BR, Phantom Ship 7A, McKenzie County;
• 41034, 1,154, BR, Cleetwood 7B, McKenzie County;

Alison's Quick Connects -- May 22, 2026

Locator: 50850B.

Quick connects:

• Continental Resources to resume oil drilling in North Dakota this year -- North Dakota Monitor

• Department of Mineral Resources marking 75th anniversary of oil discovery -- KX News

• PSC candidates weigh in on prospect of carbon pipelines -- North Dakota Monitor

• Opinion: Summit Carbon Solutions has left North Dakota wounded -- Williston Herald

• $791M Morton-Mercer wind project set for hearing before ND PSC -- Bismarck Tribune

• Tales of a geologist: Rattlesnakes, black widows and rabies filled a long career -- North Dakota Monitor

• PSC candidate discusses utility costs, landowner rights and data center concerns -- Dickinson Press

• PSC candidate Chris Olson discusses transparency, regulations and landowner rights -- Dickinson Press

• Gov. Armstrong, Kathy Neset talk past and future at Williston Basin Petroleum Conference -- KX News

• Energy leaders talk natural gas, more data centers at Williston Basin Petroleum Conference -- KX News

• State, county differ on power line permits; PSC issues approval but Divide puts off decision -- The Journal

• PSC candidate Chris Olson discusses transparency, regulations and landowner rights -- Williston Herald

• 'We've never transitioned from any fuel source in the world in the history of mankind' -- Williston Herald

• Candidates differ on whether PSC has done enough to keep energy affordable -- North Dakota Monitor

• Burgum touts AI data centers, calls Iran war 'gift to the world' in speech to oil industry -- North Dakota Monitor

• MHA Nation charts path to self-sufficiency by leveraging natural gas, data centers -- North Dakota Monitor

• Regulators seek public comment on proposed Bakken East Pipeline in North Dakota -- Bismarck Tribune

• Company seeks permit for $174M battery energy storage facility in South Dakota -- South Dakota Searchlight

• Legislation to improve North Dakota land management passes US House unanimously -- Julie Fedorchak

• US Supreme Court sends North Dakota tribal redistricting case back for review -- North Dakota Monitor

• Governor appoints Workforce Service Director Davis as interim Job Service executive director -- KX News

• Statewide candidates hold bipartisan forum discussing energy, agriculture issues -- North Dakota Monitor

• FEMA awards more than $846,000 to North Dakota communities hit by June 2025 storms -- Valley News Live

• Cramer highlights Roosevelt Library, permitting reform at energy infrastructure conference -- Kevin Cramer

• Meet the North Dakota drought task force, a group that monitors conditions closely to provide aid -- KFYR-TV

• Dems, secretary of state disagree on how to replace candidate after Conmy's death -- North Dakota Monitor

• Inside wildland fire response readiness: what communities should know -- McKenzie County Farmer

• Ray City Commission hears update on planning for community complex, other projects -- The Journal

• County commission addresses pay discrepancy and transparency portal -- McKenzie County Farmer

• MHA Nation members request access to wide range of tribal financial records -- McKenzie County Farmer

• Kylan Klauzer faces Vicky Steiner in the Republican primary in District 37 -- Dickinson Press

• Dr. Shelley Lenz faces Susan Josephson in the Democratic primary in District 37 -- Dickinson Press

• Water, environment, development: statewide officials speak to data center impacts -- Hazen Star

• Action, inaction and weighted concerns: County P&Z rejects draft data center ordinance -- The Beacon

• Port: School meals ballot measure will not block federal funding as Tuttle claimed -- Williston Herald

• Cutting tribal college funding a threat to learning culture and self-determination -- North Dakota Monitor

• Another North Dakota school closes its classroom doors for a final time; Zeeland locks its doors -- KFYR-TV

• NDDP seeking students in grades six through 12 to serve on Superintendent's Student Cabinet -- KX News

• Letter: Elementary teachers teaching lifelong skills should be the highest paid public employees -- InForum

• Minot Public School district will begin offering free breakfast and lunch meals this summer -- KFYR-TV

• Ten North Dakota high school seniors are named U.S. Presidential Scholar semifinalists -- WZFG

• Divide County school board hears students' thoughts on proposal for four day week -- The Journal

• Williston schools enrollment expected to continue significant growth, straining capacity -- Williston Herald

• North Dakota Tribal College System representatives concerned by funding cut proposal -- Dickinson Press

• Minot Public Schools announce hiring of new principal and assistant principal -- Minot Daily News

• Killdeer's career advisor Holly Schmidt named Dunn County Teacher of the Year -- The Beacon

• Trump faces increased pressure over rising gas prices. Experts say gas will hit $5 a gallon -- KFYR-TV

• Oil prices climb 3% to two-week high on worries over supply disruption from closure of Hormuz -- Reuters

• NextEra plans to buy Dominion Energy, form biggest US power company as AI demand booms -- Reuters

• IEA chief says that commercial oil inventories depleting rapidly with only a few weeks worth left -- Reuters

• China boosts its coal and gas power generation by 3.1% as wind and nuclear power output fall -- Oil Price

• Oil and gas crunch caused by war between the US, Israel, Iran has cost global businesses $25B -- Oil Price

• EPA rejects Hawaii's long-term haze reduction plan requiring oil-fired power plants to shut down -- E&E News

• Don't wait for the next Hormuz. More than ever, we need global focus on natural gas. -- RealClearEnergy

• NATO considers helping ships pass through blocked Strait of Hormuz if not reopened by July -- World Oil

• Why you should care about 2 power companies merging. Energy costs for families likely to rise. -- NPR

• Wind and solar power generation topped gas-fired power plant output for the first time ever -- Oil Price

• Iran War raises demand for US fuel, boosting Gulf Coast refining margins to highest in years -- EnergyNow

• Trillions wasted on the UN's doomsday scenario that highjacked global energy policy -- Climate Realism

• Northeast politicians drive up energy costs while claiming to promote affordability -- Manhattan Contrarian

• Trump EPA scraps Biden-era rules targeting commercial refrigerants in a bid to lower costs -- The Hill

• Southeast Asia nations ramp up use of fossil fuels, backs away from net zero pledges -- CO2 Coalition

• Canada Prime Minister greenlights pipeline while killing oil production to fill it -- Climate Change Dispatch

AAPL Hits All-Time High -- May 22, 2026

Locator: 50849AAPL.

Tag: Apple AAPL egg eggs prices

Link here. 

People starting to talk about the "costs" of diversification.

 

********************************
The Book Page

For aficionados of Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Charles Dickens, A. N. Wilson, 2020. 

Notes here. 

Two Early Cases -- June NDIC Hearing Dockets -- Posted May 22, 2026

Locator: 50848DOCKETS.

Hearing dockets are found here at the NDIC.

Monday, Jue 15, 2026
Link here.
One case.

The case, again, this is a case, not a permit: 

• 32982, CLR, Brooklyn-Bakken, commingling, Williams County;

Monday, June 29, 2026
Link here.
Two cases.

 

The cases, again, these are cases, not permist: 

• 32915, Resonance Exploration, South Westhope-Spearfish / Charles (Wilmot) unitization, Bottineau County;
• 32916, Resonance Exploration, South Westhope-Spearfish/Charles (Wilmot), unitization, Bottineau County.

DAPL "Approved" -- A Decade In Place -- May 22, 2026

Locator: 50847B.

Market: futures surging. BRKB might appreciate 5 cents today. 

*********************************
Back to the Bakken 

DAPL: US govt approves DAPL.

WTI: $97.61.

New wells reporting:

• Sunday, May 24, 2026: 52 for the month, 152 for the quarter, 309 for the year, 
• None.
• Saturday, May 23, 2026: 52 for the month, 152 for the quarter, 309 for the year, 
• 41752, conf, KODA Resources, Stout 1301-3BH, 
• 41590, conf, Hess, EN-Trout-157-93-3130H-4, 
• Friday, May 22, 2026: 50 for the month, 150 for the quarter, 307 for the year, 
• 41453, conf, Devon Energy, Wagenman 33-28 XE 1H, 

RBN Energy:  oil and gas prices supercharge 1H26 E&P results. Link here. Archived.

Oil and gas markets don’t stay quiet for long. Just as upstream producers settled into a lower-growth, shareholder-return-focused era, a geopolitical shock in the Middle East and one of the coldest Eastern winters in years sent commodity prices sharply higher during Q1 2026. WTI crude surged on fears surrounding the Iran conflict, while Appalachian natural gas prices briefly spiked into double digits as freezing temperatures tightened supply across key consuming markets. In today’s blog, we chronicle a massive rebound in profitability and cash flow from a dismal Q4 2025 for the 38 E&P companies we cover.

Crude oil prices soared during Q1 2026, but only in the last month of the quarter, so higher realizations tell only part of the earnings story. At the same time, commodity markets strengthened while producers continued to grind down operating costs, cut impairment charges and maintain disciplined spending — allowing much of the price upside to flow directly to their bottom line. The quarter also reinforced how structurally different today’s upstream sector has become compared with prior commodity upcycles, with producers now far more focused on returns and balance-sheet durability than on rapid production growth. Importantly, most producers resisted the temptation to materially accelerate drilling activity, continuing the capital discipline that has defined the sector since 2021. The result was one of the strongest quarters for upstream profitability since the post-pandemic recovery, with Gas-Weighted E&Ps briefly taking center stage before what already appears to be another shift in momentum heading into Q2 2026.

We made several changes to our peer-group composition during Q1 2026 to better reflect the evolving strategic profiles of the companies in our universe. ConocoPhillips was moved into the Oil-Weighted peer group, while EOG Resources was reclassified into the Diversified E&Ps because of its increasingly balanced commodity mix and broader operating footprint. In addition, Diversified Energy and SandRidge Energy were added to the list, expanding our coverage of mature asset and natural gas-focused operating strategies.

The 38 E&P companies covered in this analysis saw profits surge in Q1 2026 as oil prices (gray line and right axis in Figure 1 below) climbed following the Iran conflict and Appalachian natural gas prices — a pivotal benchmark for our Gas-Weighted E&Ps — spiked during an unusually cold winter across the eastern half of the U.S. At the same time, the companies in our universe reduced overall costs by more than $1/boe. Pre-tax profits (blue bars and left axis) more than doubled from Q4 2025 to $13.67/boe in Q1 2026, the second-highest result since mid-2023. Realized prices increased 24% to $38.15/boe, while total costs fell 4% to $24.28/boe. 

Figure 1. E&P Financial Results, 2014-Q1 2026. 
Source: Oil & Gas Financial Analytics LLC