nd-dmr

North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) Data Skill

Queries North Dakota oil and gas regulatory data from the DMR (formerly NDIC Oil and Gas Division). North Dakota is the #3 oil producing state, dominated by Bakken/Three Forks production in the Williston Basin.

API Key Handling

No API key required. All DMR public data queries, production reports, well searches, and GIS services are freely accessible without authentication.

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Data Access Architecture

The DMR provides data through four channels:

1. Web Query Applications — well search, production reports, activity reports
2. GIS Map Server — spatial data with ArcGIS REST services
3. Statistics Portal — downloadable production summaries and historical data
4. Monthly/Daily Reports — PDF reports with production and drilling data

Channel 1: Web Query Applications

Application	URL	Data
Well Search	https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/findwellsvw.asp	Search by operator, field, section/township/range
Daily Activity Reports	https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/dailyindex.asp	Daily drilling and completion activity
Active Drilling Rigs	https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/riglist.asp	Current rig count and locations
Monthly Production Reports	https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp	Searchable PDFs, 2003-present
Hearing Dockets	https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/docketindex.asp	Regulatory hearing records

Channel 2: GIS Map Server

URL: https://gis.dmr.nd.gov

The DMR GIS Map Server provides spatial data for wells, fields, units, and infrastructure. Standard ArcGIS REST query patterns apply.

# Discover available map services:
curl -s "https://gis.dmr.nd.gov/arcgis/rest/services?f=json" | jq '.services[] | {name, type}'

# Query a well layer (example — identify the service and layer index first):
curl -s "https://gis.dmr.nd.gov/arcgis/rest/services/OilGas/OilGas_Wells/MapServer/0/query" \
  --data-urlencode "where=1=1" \
  --data-urlencode "outFields=*" \
  --data-urlencode "resultRecordCount=5" \
  --data-urlencode "f=json"

# Note: Service names and layer indexes may change. Always discover first by
# querying the services directory and then the specific service layers.

Channel 3: Statistics Portal

URL: https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/statisticsvw.asp

Comprehensive downloadable statistics:

Dataset	Format	Coverage
Monthly Oil Production by County	PDF	1980-present
Oil Production by Formation	Spreadsheet	1998-present
Gas Production by Formation	Spreadsheet	1998-present
Cumulative Oil Production by Formation	Spreadsheet	Cumulative totals
Historical Annual Production	PDF	Full history
County Oil Production Charts	Charts/PDF	17 producing counties
Gas Production and Sales	Spreadsheet	Current
Historical Drilling Statistics	Varies	Full history

Channel 4: Director's Cut and Monthly Reports

The DMR Director's Cut is a monthly briefing with key statistics:

# Monthly Production Reports (PDF, searchable):
# https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp
# Select year (2003-2026) to access monthly PDFs

# Director's Cut — monthly summary with commentary:
# Published ~45 days after production month
# Subscribe via email at: https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/mprindex.asp

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Query Patterns

Well Search

The well search form accepts these parameters:

Parameter	Values	Notes
Operator	Dropdown of all active/historical operators	e.g., "CONTINENTAL RESOURCES"
Field	Dropdown of all fields	e.g., "BAKKEN", "ALEXANDER"
Section	1-36	Township subdivision
Township	129-164	North-south coordinate
Range	47-107	East-west coordinate

# Well search is form-based. Example POST:
curl -s "https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/findwellsvw.asp" \
  --data-urlencode "TEFLD=BAKKEN" \
  --data-urlencode "Submit=Submit"
# Response is HTML with well list. Parse for file numbers, API numbers,
# well names, operators, locations, and status.

# Individual well data by file number:
# https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/feeservices/getwellprod.asp?fiession=XXXXX
# (URL pattern may vary; check current DMR site)

GIS Map Server Queries

# Step 1: List available services
curl -s "https://gis.dmr.nd.gov/arcgis/rest/services?f=json" \
  | jq '.services[] | {name, type}'

# Step 2: Inspect a specific service (e.g., OilGas wells)
curl -s "https://gis.dmr.nd.gov/arcgis/rest/services/OilGas/OilGas_Wells/MapServer?f=json" \
  | jq '.layers[] | {id, name}'

# Step 3: Query wells in McKenzie County
curl -s "https://gis.dmr.nd.gov/arcgis/rest/services/OilGas/OilGas_Wells/MapServer/0/query" \
  --data-urlencode "where=COUNTY='MCKENZIE'" \
  --data-urlencode "outFields=*" \
  --data-urlencode "resultRecordCount=10" \
  --data-urlencode "f=json"

# Step 4: Spatial query — wells within a bounding box
curl -s "https://gis.dmr.nd.gov/arcgis/rest/services/OilGas/OilGas_Wells/MapServer/0/query" \
  --data-urlencode "geometry=-104.0,47.5,-103.0,48.5" \
  --data-urlencode "geometryType=esriGeometryEnvelope" \
  --data-urlencode "spatialRel=esriSpatialRelIntersects" \
  --data-urlencode "outFields=*" \
  --data-urlencode "resultRecordCount=10" \
  --data-urlencode "f=json"

Production by Formation

# Download production-by-formation spreadsheets from the Statistics portal:
# https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/stats/statisticsvw.asp
# Available: Oil Production by Formation (1998-2025), Gas Production by Formation

# Key formations tracked:
# BAKKEN (dominant), THREE FORKS, MADISON, MISSION CANYON, DUPEROW,
# SPEARFISH, LODGEPOLE, RED RIVER, TYLER, RATCLIFFE

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Workflow

Step 1 — Resolve Intent

User wants...	Best channel
Specific well details	Well Search or GIS Map Server
Production by formation	Statistics Portal spreadsheets
County production totals	Monthly Production Reports (PDF) or Statistics
Current drilling activity	Active Drilling Rigs / Daily Activity Reports
Spatial analysis / mapping	GIS Map Server (ArcGIS REST)
State-level summary	Director's Cut monthly report
Bakken vs. Three Forks comparison	Production by Formation spreadsheets

Step 2 — Fetch Data

For individual wells, use the Well Search form or GIS Map Server query. For formation-level or county-level analysis, download Statistics portal files. For spatial queries, use the GIS Map Server REST endpoint with JSON output.

Step 3 — Parse Response

• Well Search returns HTML (parse for well records)
• GIS Map Server returns JSON with f=json parameter
• Statistics files are spreadsheets (Excel/CSV) or PDF
• Monthly Production Reports are searchable PDFs

Step 4 — Produce Output

Format: Raw Data Table + Narrative

## North Dakota Bakken Formation Production (Monthly, 2023-2024)

| Period   | Oil (BBL)    | Gas (MCF)      | Wells  |
|----------|--------------|----------------|--------|
| 2024-06  | 35,200,000   | 105,400,000    | 12,450 |
| 2024-05  | 34,800,000   | 103,900,000    | 12,380 |
| ...      | ...          | ...            | ...    |

**Summary:** Bakken production averaged 35.2 million barrels/month (1.17 million
BOPD) in June 2024 from 12,450 producing wells. The Bakken accounts for ~93% of
ND oil production. Three Forks adds another ~5%. Peak ND production was 1.52
million BOPD in November 2019. Data from DMR monthly production reports;
preliminary for most recent 2 months.

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North Dakota Geographic Reference

Key Producing Counties

County	Location	Notes
McKenzie	NW ND	#1 oil county, heart of Bakken
Mountrail	NW ND	#2 oil county, Parshall Field
Williams	NW ND	Williston area
Dunn	W-central ND	Killdeer area
Divide	NW corner	Border county
Burke	N-central ND	Northern Bakken extent
Stark	SW ND	Dickinson area
Bowman	SW ND	Southern Williston Basin

Formations Critical for Li/Mg Research

• Bakken Formation: The primary target. Bakken produced waters contain 10-70 mg/L lithium with high TDS (200,000-350,000 mg/L). The Three Forks (underlying the Bakken) has similar chemistry. At ~1.1 million BOPD with water cuts increasing as the play matures, significant produced water volumes are available.
• Madison Group (Mississippian): Deeper, older formation with higher TDS and potentially higher Li concentrations. Less production volume than Bakken.
• Red River Formation (Ordovician): Very high TDS brines (300,000+ mg/L) with elevated lithium. Limited modern production but historically significant.

Lithium in Bakken Context

• Li concentration: 10-70 mg/L (most wells 20-50 mg/L)
• Economic DLE threshold: ~100-150 mg/L
• Bakken Li is sub-economic at current DLE costs but could become viable with:
  • Technology improvements reducing DLE costs
  • Co-production with other valuable elements (Mg, Br, I)
  • Volume-based processing (1+ million BBL/day available)
• USGS Produced Waters DB has 100+ Bakken brine analyses with Li data

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Error Handling

Condition	Meaning	Action
Well Search returns empty	No matching wells for criteria	Verify operator name spelling; try broader field search
GIS Map Server 404	Service name changed	Re-discover services at base URL; DMR updates service names periodically
GIS query returns error JSON	Invalid field name or query syntax	Query the service metadata first to get valid field names
PDF not loading	Monthly report not yet published	Reports publish ~45 days after production month; check earlier month
Statistics spreadsheet unavailable	File being updated	Retry; check if year is available (formation data starts 1998)
"Data is updating hourly" notice	Real-time refresh in progress	Data should be current; this is a status message, not an error

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Caveats and Data Limitations

1. Well Search is form-based: The DMR well search returns HTML, not JSON. For JSON output, use the GIS Map Server REST endpoints.
2. GIS service names may change: The DMR periodically updates its GIS services. Always discover available services at the base URL before querying.
3. Production data is PDF-primary: Monthly production reports are published as searchable PDFs, not machine-readable formats. The Statistics portal spreadsheets are more useful for programmatic analysis.
4. No Excel for monthly reports: The DMR explicitly does not provide Excel versions of monthly production reports due to amendment discrepancies.
5. Data lag: Production data lags ~45 days. The Director's Cut provides preliminary estimates sooner but revises frequently.
6. Water production not separately reported: Unlike some states, ND does not require separate produced water volume reporting at the well level. Water volumes must be inferred from injection/disposal reports or estimated.
7. Bakken water cut increasing: As the Bakken play matures, water cuts are rising (now 50-70% in older wells), increasing produced water availability but also increasing disposal costs — a driver for beneficial reuse including mineral extraction.