The Bakken region, spanning parts of North Dakota and Montana, has become a major contributor to US crude oil production. Advances in horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing and longer well laterals have helped operators access tight-rock resources and improve development efficiency. As shale wells naturally decline over time, companies are increasingly focused on controlling costs, reducing downtime and improving drilling and production performance.
- The Bakken-Three Forks petroleum system is an important source of crude oil production in the United States.
- According to the article's cited EIA figures, the Bakken region produced approximately 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025.
- Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing helped accelerate large-scale Bakken development beginning in the late 2000s.
- Longer horizontal laterals allow operators to access more oil-bearing rock from individual drilling locations.
- Phoenix Energy reported expanding its use of four-mile laterals in Montana during 2026.
- Operational efficiency helps oil producers manage drilling costs, downtime and production performance.
- Data-driven drilling and completion strategies are becoming increasingly important as operators seek to improve returns from existing resources.
- Because shale wells typically experience production declines, operators must balance existing well performance with investment in new development.
When most Americans think about domestic oil production, Texas probably comes to mind first. But more than a thousand miles north, beneath the plains of North Dakota and Montana, another region has played an important role in reshaping the American energy landscape: the Bakken.
The Bakken Formation lies within the larger Williston Basin, which stretches across parts of North Dakota, Montana and Canada. Development in the region is not limited to the Bakken Formation itself. Operators also produce from the underlying Three Forks Formation, and the two are frequently discussed together as the Bakken-Three Forks petroleum system.
The broader Bakken producing region has become one of the country’s major sources of crude oil. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Bakken region produced approximately 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025, accounting for about 9% of total U.S. crude oil production.
The United States, meanwhile, averaged a record 13.6 million barrels of crude oil production per day in 2025 and remained the world’s largest crude oil producer. EIA has attributed continued U.S. production strength in part to gains in drilling productivity and operational efficiency across major shale basins.
Those numbers tell only part of the story. The Bakken is also a useful case study in how advances in engineering, technology and operational efficiency have reshaped how American oil resources are developed.
Technology Changed What Was Possible
The oil in the Bakken did not suddenly appear during the American shale boom. Oil production from the Bakken dates back decades, but large-scale development accelerated in the late 2000s as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing made tight-rock resources more economically accessible.
Two technologies were particularly important: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Rather than simply drilling vertically through an oil-bearing formation, operators can drill down to the target rock and then turn the well horizontally, allowing thousands of feet of the wellbore to remain in contact with the formation.
Hydraulic fracturing is then used to create pathways through the tight rock that allow oil and natural gas to flow toward the wellbore.
The combination helped transform U.S. energy production. EIA data show that horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing were instrumental in the rapid growth of Bakken production beginning in the 2000s.
For engineers and operators, however, the technology itself is only the beginning.
“The basic concept is pretty straightforward: drill the well, complete it and then produce it,” says Adam Ferrari, a chemical engineer and CEO of Phoenix Energy, an oil and gas company operating in the Williston Basin. “The challenge is doing each of those things efficiently and repeatedly.”
That distinction matters because modern oil development is ultimately an exercise in economics as much as geology.
Longer Laterals Are Changing How the Bakken Is Developed
One of the most significant changes in shale development has been the continued evolution of horizontal wells.
A horizontal section of a well—known as the lateral—can extend for miles underground. Longer laterals allow an operator to expose more oil-bearing rock from a single surface location.
That can create several potential efficiencies. Infrastructure and surface facilities can support multiple wells. Operators can develop larger areas from a pad rather than continually establishing new drilling locations. And improvements in drilling and completion techniques can reduce the amount of time required to bring a well into production.
The Bakken has been an important testing ground for these improvements.
Ferrari’s company, Phoenix Energy, for example, has expanded its use of four-mile laterals in its Williston Basin operations. In 2026, the company reported drilling its first four-mile lateral “switchback” wells in Montana and completing an eight-well, four-mile lateral unit development in the state.
The industry’s challenge today is not simply finding oil. It is finding ways to recover known resources more efficiently.
Why Operational Efficiency Matters in the Bakken
Oil prices naturally receive most of the public attention. But operators cannot control the global price of crude.
They can exert considerably more control over their own costs.
That makes operational efficiency particularly important in a mature producing region such as the Bakken. Drilling faster, reducing downtime, improving completion designs and managing producing wells more effectively can affect development costs, operating expenses and the time required to bring wells into production.
It is one reason the oil and gas industry has become increasingly data-driven.
Efficiency is particularly important because shale development presents an ongoing operational challenge: individual wells generally produce most strongly early in their lives and decline over time. Operators therefore have to balance the performance of existing wells with the capital required to drill, complete and bring new wells online.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bakken Formation?
The Bakken Formation is an oil-bearing geological formation within the Williston Basin, which extends across North Dakota, Montana and parts of Canada. It is often discussed alongside the underlying Three Forks Formation.
Why is the Bakken important to US oil production?
The Bakken is one of America's major crude oil-producing regions. Its development has contributed to domestic oil supply and demonstrated how drilling technology can make tight-rock resources commercially accessible.
How much oil does the Bakken produce?
According to the EIA figures cited in the article, the Bakken region produced approximately 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025, representing about 9% of US production.
How did horizontal drilling change Bakken oil production?
Horizontal drilling allows operators to extend a wellbore through oil-bearing rock for thousands of feet, increasing contact with the formation compared with a conventional vertical well.
What role does hydraulic fracturing play in the Bakken?
Hydraulic fracturing creates pathways through tight rock formations, helping oil and natural gas flow toward the wellbore for production.
What are four-mile laterals in oil drilling?
Four-mile laterals are horizontal well sections extending approximately four miles underground. They allow operators to reach more of the target formation from a drilling location, although their economic benefits depend on geological and operational conditions.
Why is operational efficiency important in shale oil production?
Oil producers cannot control global crude prices, but they can manage factors such as drilling speed, downtime, completion costs and well performance. Improving these areas can help control development expenses.
Why do shale oil companies need to keep drilling new wells?
Shale wells generally produce at higher rates early in their lives before declining. Operators must therefore manage existing production while evaluating the cost and potential output of new wells.
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